The Australian Volunteers Program strives to provide a safe, supportive and equitable environment for LGBTQIA+ volunteers, approved accompanying dependents, partner organisations and all program staff. The Australian Volunteers Program has supported queer volunteers in all program countries and has ongoing connections with community organisations in many countries and regions in which the program operates.
This guide introduces a snapshot of the local context for queer and gender diverse people. LGBTQIA+ program participants must be aware of the country context before undertaking an assignment. If you are an LGBTQIA+ volunteer, you will need to:
- do your own research and understand what the local law says you can and can't do when in-country
- follow the local laws, even if you disagree with them
- be aware of the legal protections for LGBTQIA+ people in your destinations
- consider if you’re comfortable living and working in a place where you may not be able to live as openly as you can in some parts of Australia.
Language
Terminology may differ across urban and rural contexts, provinces or ethnic and cultural groups. Information sourced online can be outdated or inaccurate. For current and accurate information, please confirm with an appropriate civil society organisation (CSO) or ask your in-country team.
Legal and policy context
Tanzania inherited colonial-era laws prohibiting same-sex intimacy, which remain in effect. ‘Carnal knowledge … against the order of nature’ – generally interpreted as sodomy – carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while an ‘attempt to commit unnatural offences’ is punishable by no less than twenty years’ imprisonment. Acts of ‘gross indecency’ and ‘indecent practices between males’ are also outlawed, with up to five years’ imprisonment. The wording of the former was updated to apply equally to men and women.
Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region, also prescribes life imprisonment for ‘carnal knowledge … against the order of nature’, as well as a range of sentences depending on the circumstances in which ‘gross indecency’ is committed. Profiling of suspected LGBTQIA+ people is widespread, often based solely on dress and mannerisms. Those deemed suspicious are often arrested for ‘loitering’ or ‘prostitution’ if more serious charges are considered unlikely to be prosecuted.
State authorities actively enforce these laws. The police are known to raid private residences, entertainment venues, community workshops and activist meetings. These operations often culminate in group arrests based on ‘alleged homosexuality’ and ‘promoting homosexuality’. Because neither of these activities is criminalised, the state relies on forced anal examinations to ‘prove’ same-sex sexual conduct, despite the scientific integrity of this ‘evidence’ being debunked and the practice being recognised as torture by the UN.
Several Tanzanian MPs have called for tougher penalties for same-sex sexual activity, with some advocating for the death penalty. In April 2023, MP Jacqueline Ngonyani claimed that intensified criminalisation was the only way to curb ‘ongoing moral decay’. Other public figures have advocated for Tanzania to replicate the draconian anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation adopted by Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda.
The Tanzanian government has attempted to restrict CSOs advocating for or working with LGBTQIA+ people. Several organisations have had their registrations suspended and/or licences revoked.
Discrimination
Almost no legal protections exist for LGBTQIA+ people in Tanzania. This includes a lack of constitutional protections and national laws that protect against discrimination, laws that protect against discrimination in employment, and laws that protect against hate crimes, violence or discrimination based on gender and sexual identities.
Prior to the 2015 election, the state was largely tolerant of LGBTQIA+ people. Inspired by developments in Uganda, the new administration was vehemently homophobic and transphobic. This led to “a tremendous rise of homophobic legislation, policing, social exclusion, public stigmatization, and hate speech.” By 2016, a moral panic was in full force, driven by inflammatory comments and sensationalised news coverage. In addition to raiding venues and arresting suspected LGBTQIA+ people, the state began to crack down on CSOs, media outlets and public health initiatives deemed to be ‘promoting homosexuality’.
In 2018, reports emerged of a new ‘taskforce’ to hunt down LGBTQIA+ people. The claim, made by regional commissioner for Dar es Salaam Paul Makonda, was later disavowed by then president John Magufuli. Although the taskforce did not materialise, the state intensified its attacks on queer communities, driving many LGBTQIA+ people into hiding.
LGBTQIA+ people are also routinely denied access to goods and services and subjected to grave rights violations. Studies document various forms of persecution, including harassment, abuse, bullying, extortion, ostracization, violence and rape.
In April, 2023, Milembe Suleiman, an openly lesbian woman, was brutally killed in a suspected homophobic attack.
The state’s campaign against LGBTQIA+ rights continues, with various laws and policies being introduced to protect against ‘moral corruption’. Recent moves included the banning of rainbow paint in schools and censoring books considered to violate cultural norms. In February 2023, the Education Ministry announced its plan to establish an anonymous hotline for the public to report ‘acts that cultivate immoral habits in schools’.
Cultural and societal attitudes
Attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people in Tanzania are deeply conservative. Social and legal structures are organised according to patriarchal values, underpinned by religious teachings and customary practices. Any deviations from conventional gender roles are likely to be met with bullying, exclusion and physical or sexual abuse. Parents expect their children to marry and start a family; some LGBTQI people engage in opposite-sex relationships to maintain family ties.
Objections to gender and sexual diversity are often political in nature, with anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric used to distract from governance failures and establish authority. A need to safeguard children from sin, perversion and disease is commonly used to justify state-led crackdowns. Moves by some Western governments to restrict or suspend foreign aid because of anti-LGBTQIA+ policies is held up as evidence of neo-colonialism. By linking homophobia and transphobia with national security and cultural preservation, politicians have garnered widespread support and cultivated a climate of surveillance and fear, driving LGBTQIA+ people underground and limiting the work of sympathetic CSOs.
Health and wellbeing
LGBTQIA+ people face pronounced barriers to healthcare, including stigma, harassment, degrading treatment, confidentiality breaches, inadequate training and denial of service. These challenges have been exacerbated by government policies that seek to prevent LGBTQIA+-related healthcare. These include a ban on any activities considered to ‘promote homosexuality’, ranging from the distribution of lubricants to the provision of outreach, education and treatment services.
'Because of government, LGBT people don’t have a place to get training [on sexual health]. People don’t get lubricants, they don’t get condoms, they don’t get services. In short, we are dying.' - Human Rights Watch
CSOs working on inclusive healthcare have been deregistered, drop-in centres have been forcibly closed, and meetings, workshops and trainings on LGBTQIA+ issues have been raided, with attendees arrested and detained. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International AIDS Society have reported limited access to HIV testing, reduced compliance with ARV treatment protocols and a sharp rise in mental health issues within the LGBTQIA+ community. Given the high prevalence of HIV in Tanzania (4.5% or 1.7 million people) and its disproportionate impact on men who have sex with men, transgender communities and sex workers, the government’s stance on LGBTQIA+ health care is deeply concerning.
Involuntary or coercive practices are widespread, including ‘conversion therapy’, which is conducted by either medical/mental health practitioners or by religious and community leaders, including employees at state-run hospitals.
Sexual education is not explicitly taught in schools, but is mainstreamed into other subjects such as biology, social studies, and civics and morality.
Media
Social media has been used as a weapon against LGBTQIA+ people. Recounting a police raid in 2018, one activist said it felt like “open season on gay people” because a list of names was published on social media to ‘out’ those involved.
In 2022, former Minister of ICT Nape Nnauye warned that action would be taken against the administrators of social media groups whose members share pro-LGBTQIA+ messages. Extensive blocking of websites has been reported, ranging from dating apps and LGBTQIA+ media organisations through to crowd-sourcing platforms and the websites of donor agencies. In 2025, the government announced plans to ban the social media platform X because of its pornographic and pro-LGBTQIA+ content.
It is difficult, if not impossible, for news outlets to publish or broadcast positive stories on LGBTQIA+ topics. If crimes involving LGBTQIA+ people are reported, such as the trial of Milembe Suleiman’s killers, no mention of the victim’s gender or sexual identity is included. Similarly, when anti-LGBTQIA+ laws or policies are reported in the news, journalists do not include alternative points of view or engage with activist groups.
Research and contributions provided by John Marnell, African Centre for Migration and Society
The Pride Guides were developed in 2022 and updated in 2025 by consultants and experts based in countries in which the program operates.
