LGBT rights in Cameroon

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In 1921, German ethnographer Günther Teonmann quoted a local calling homosexuality a "national custom" among the Bafia people in his book Die Homosexualität bei den Negern Kameruns. He later on described the three stages of life of a Bafia man, namely:
kiembe, men who did not have any sexual relationships with women. It starts around 15 years old. ntu, men who had sexual relationships with women. mbäng, fathers, men who have children. Kiembe boys were prohibited to have sexual and social contacts with prepubescent girls at the risk of being tortured or enslaved; there was a fierce competition to get the available women. The only option left of those kiembe men was to develop a close male sexual friendship with a lexan, a kiembe boy of a younger or of the same age who is in the same situation, where they would often engage in ji’gele ketön, anal penetration. Before the sexual act, one of the boy would ask the consent of the other person by showing them a basketry plate of earthnuts and say that if they eat one, they consent. This metaphor symbolized the apparent dirtiness of a nut coming from the ground but become sweetness of it upon tasting. These acts could happen anytime, at any place (such as at one of the boys' home) and were seen as normal. For instance, it wasn't rare for a father to come back home to witness his son performing a sexual act and to laugh it off. The kiembe and his lexan would help each other to abduct a woman and share her, regardless of her marital status, with the other kiembe people of the settlement so they could all become ntu. This event is seen by many as a turning point that will make the young man win over heterosexual relationships. However, some still continue to be in same sex relations. The Law on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime (Law No. 2010/012 of 21 December 2010) criminalises online same sex sexual propositions.

In May 2005, 11 men were arrested at a nightclub on suspicion of sodomy, and the government threatened to conduct medical examinations to "prove" their homosexual activity. As of February 2006, nearly all were still being detained, with trials scheduled in March 2006. The Advocate estimates that in 2011, at least a dozen men were deatined under Section 347. One of these, Jean Claude Roger Mbede, was arrested by security forces for sending SMS messages to male acquaintance and sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Kondengui Central Prison. The sentence was protested by international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, On 24 November 2011, three young men were sentenced to five years' imprisonment for having oral sex in a parked car. In November 2011, a Cameroonian court convicted two young men who had been arrested for homosexuality outside a nightclub based solely on their appearance and behavior to five years' imprisonment. The presiding judge stated that the way they spoke and their having worn women's clothing and ordered a cream based liquor was sufficient evidence for homosexuality. An appeals court later overturned the verdict. In February 2021, two Cameroonian transgender women spent five months in prison after being arrested on February 8 for "wearing women's clothing in a restaurant" in the country's largest city, Douala. The two women were later convicted of "attempted homosexuality, public indecency, and failing to carry identification." In August 2011, a gay Cameroonian man was granted temporary immigration bail from the UK Border Agency after Air France refused to carry him to Yaoundé. In May 2012, the UK Border Agency sought to return asylum seeker Ediage Valerie Ekwedde, finding "no credible evidence" that he was gay, but was forced to keep Ekwedde in custody after he threatened to "make a fuss" on the Air France flight returning him to Cameroon.

Cameroon is a conservative society in which homosexuality is frowned upon. In 2006, a number of tabloids published the names of at least 50 very prominent people they claimed were homosexual. They condemned them for deviant behaviour. The stories boosted newspaper circulation, but were criticized by the state communication council for invading people's privacy. The campaign provoked a national debate about gay rights and privacy. The wave of suspicion that followed the publications was greatly influenced by Christian teachings, particularly those of the Catholic church, as well as long standing suspicion of European secret societies such as the Freemasons. The president at the time, Paul Biya, publicly encouraged respecting the privacy of others but at the same time began to prosecute people accused of engaging in homosexual activity. Few lawyers are willing to defend the accused. A Cameroon court jailed Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga for four months for defaming Grégoire Owona, a government minister named in the list of 50 presumed homosexuals in Cameroon. The US Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that homosexual people "generally kept a low profile because of the pervasive societal stigma, discrimination, and harassment as well as the possibility of imprisonment. Gays and lesbians suffered from harassment and extortion by law enforcement officials. False allegations of homosexuality were used to harass enemies or to extort money." In 2012, the first association for lesbian and queer women, World Queens, was founded.

Same sex sexual activity legal (5 years imprisonment) Equal age of consent Anti discrimination laws in employment only Anti discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services Anti discrimination laws in all other areas (Incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) Same sex marriages Recognition of same sex couples Step child adoption by same sex couples Joint adoption by same sex couples Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military Right to change legal gender Access to IVF for lesbians Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples MSMs allowed to donate blood