behind the mask celebrates world press freedom day

May 3, 2005: Today, on World Press Freedom Day, Behind the Mask commends those journalists across Africa who courageously report in an unbiased manner on matters and stories relating to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (GLBTI) people. We also remember those journalists who have been harassed for extending press freedom by airing debates about the rights of the GLBTI community and by recognizing the rights of gay and lesbian people in their countries via their reporting.

The media plays a crucial role in highlighting LGBTI rights through print and broadcast media. Often times, to the harassed gay and lesbian people on the continent, their only companion is the media through the information they read. The media also acts as a catalyst of change as they report on trends from societies that are gay tolerant. The media also offers a glimpse of hope to those living in hostile environments.

In many African countries, the media is not free as regards reporting on gays and lesbians, their organizations and their campaigns or challenges. Newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are prevented from running with GLBTI stories by political pressure from ruling parties and even directly by national presidents of states. Diverse types of religious leadership also exercise control over the media by their homophobic statements, and 'popular opinion' also plays a role in making media nervous to run with what are seen as controversial stories.

Behind the Mask itself works in a very precarious fashion where many of our stories carry pseudonyms, anonymous authors and names and places are omitted in order to ensure the safety of our sources. Whilst we regret this situation, we recognize that this auspicious expediency gives us the only access to information which we would otherwise not obtain. We are also heartened by today's statement by the UN special rapporteurs on freedom of expression in which they affirm the harsh conditions under which some African journalists work and state their willingness to address these anomalies.

In the spirit of such an interaction, we firmly believe that this journey ought to begin with a single step. We therefore call on the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Mr. Andrew Chigovera, to set in motion measures which will hold African countries accountable such as outlawing hate speech and defamatory reporting in their countries.

Behind the Mask Team