Since its founding in 2015, the African Queer Youth Initiative (AQYI) has actively been mobilizing, supporting, and amplifying African queer youths' and activists' voices. As a group of motivated and resourceful young people across Africa, AQYI's work has been giving voices to young African LGBT+1 and empowering them to lead change through campaigns, lobbying initiatives, organizing, advocacy work, research, networking, and capacity building. AQYI’s work is anchored on the strong belief that communities affected by an issue, should be the ones leading and at the forefront of addressing those same issues.
Introduction
African Queer Youth Initiative conducted an online survey in ten African countries in a bid to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBT+ youth around Africa. With about 700 respondents, the research team ensured representation by targeting respondents from both Anglophone and Francophone countries across the continent. As much as possible, the survey made certain that all types of sexualities and gender identities were represented proportionally.
Economic Impact
Eight out of every ten queer youth experienced financial difficulties due to the pandemic and more than 70 percent of respondents who previously had a source of income say that they have either lost their jobs or seen a reduction in their income. Interestingly, less than a tenth of the people received aid from the government while a slightly higher number of respondents received support from NGOs and respondents reported that they received more food aid than financial support. Essentially, queer people have suffered losses and reduction in income and yet have limited support either from the government and nongovernmental bodies.
Social Impact
About a third of respondents experienced one form of human rights violation or another, with the invasion of privacy and harassment ranking high on the list of offenses. Thirteen percent of respondents also reported experiencing intimate partner violence during the lockdown period, while about five percent of respondents said they experienced domestic violence from family members. Nearly half of the respondents reported having little or no access to schooling due to the pandemic and about a quarter said they experienced homelessness as well.