Barbaric "gay tests" are still victimizing men across the world

[Behind the Aegis]

So-called ‘gay tests’ have been used by anti-gay governments and authorities to inflict immense physiological and physical trauma to victims for decades. From Egypt to Uzbekistan, Uganda to Saudi Arabia, forced anal tests are persecuting gay men in more than a dozen countries around the world – all with either the explicit or implicit support of governments.

In countries where same-sex sexual activity is outlawed, law enforcement officials have been documented forcing men accused of consensual same-sex relations to undergo invasive and degrading forced anal examinations. The flawed ‘evidence’ from these unscientific tests is then used by legal authorities to convict people of homosexual conduct.

“Forced anal tests are tantamount to rape,” Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation and human rights campaigner, told LGBTQ Nation. “They often inflict pain and are a form of torture: an inhuman and degrading ill-treatment. These probes are not an accurate diagnosis of homosexuality, since many gay men do not have anal sex and some straight men have relaxed anal sphincters.”

While human rights groups are working to end this practice, it’s an uphill battle.

“Countries that use anal tests are mostly highly repressive homophobic regimes that ignore human rights and international pressure,” adds Tatchell.

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