Côte d’Ivoire, often seen as a haven of tolerance for LGBT people in West Africa, is experiencing an alarming increase in homophobic acts, with hate campaigns unleashed on social media and resulting in physical violence. In recent weeks, the situation has rapidly escalated, marked by a series of verbal and physical attacks targeting gay men and transgender women in particular.
On platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, influencers and public figures have launched virulent attacks on “woubis” and “leles,” local derogatory terms for gay and lesbian people, respectively. One influential TikToker, Ibrahim Zigui, with over 230,000 followers, has stoked the flames with posts criticizing what he calls the “overexposure” of gay people, exacerbating the situation.
The reaction to this hate speech was swift on the streets. In Yopougon, a working-class neighborhood in Abidjan, mobs violently targeted a beauty salon run by transgender women, highlighting the reach and impact of this online discourse in real life.
LGBT rights organizations, such as the Mouvement social LGBT de Côte d’Ivoire, have reported about 30 physical attacks since the beginning of August. Brice Donald Dibahi, founder of the NGO Gromo and an active activist, expressed major concern about what he considers an unprecedented level of violence. Louna, director of the NGO Droit à la différence (DADI) and a transgender woman, also testified to the scale of the phenomenon, mentioning direct threats such as “You are perverting society so you should not exist.”
Faced with this rise in violence, the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) urged the population to renounce the use of violence and stressed the importance of protecting the rights of LGBT people while respecting the country's cultural values.
The call for moderation comes as the Ivorian government, which has declared itself neutral on issues of sexual orientation, watches with concern the growing tensions. The issue of homosexuality remains a sensitive and divided subject in Côte d'Ivoire, a country where sexual orientation is not recognized as an official ground for discrimination under the penal code.
This crisis highlights the persistent challenges facing LGBT communities in Côte d'Ivoire, despite greater historical tolerance compared to other African countries where homosexuality is criminalized.
