In 2013, a meeting was held between anti-abortion leaders that belonged to Europe and the US. They collaborated and started a group that would promote conservative views on reproductive rights and gender issues in Europe. By 2016, it had been named Agenda Europe. The group decided to increase its work in East Africa. They have a desire to be aware of the people of different regions and their conservative ideas about sexual health and rights.
Document from Open Democracy highlights Agenda Europe used the social media platform email to plan their actions. The sending duration of these emails was from 2013 to 2019. One of the emails revealed the truth about Swedish politicians. He supported LGBTIQ+ rights and had plans to permit terrible things like necrophilia and incest, calling it shocking.
This false information was used to scare people and was supported by a member named Stefano Gennarini, who thought it would influence opinions in Africa and Asia.
Gennarinin holds the responsibility of Vice President at the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam). The Southern Poverty Law Center assigned the name of this US-based group, the anti-LGBTIQ+ “hate group”. According to the leader of this group, Austin Ruse, Africa is the central target for anti-LGBTQ+ efforts. He believes Africa accepts conservative values more than Europe.
According to Ruse’s thoughts, right-wing activists have a desire to spread their views in Africa. Emails also highlight that a US and European group is making efforts to influence African politicians. They can do this by supporting anti-LGBTQ+ movements. Approximately 31 out of 54 African countries have designed laws against same-sex relationships. Many of these rules come from old colonial rules.
Activist Olabukunola Williams from Uganda says the fight for freedom continues. She believes that to achieve true freedom in Africa, people must challenge systems of oppression like patriarchy and colonialism.
In the initial stage, Agenda Europe did not focus more on LGBTIQ+ rights in Africa. However, in 2015, the change happened after the involvement of Sharon Slater. She is the one who started Family Watch International (FWI). It is a lobbying group against sex education. FWI promotes family rights. In Agenda Europe emails, Slater shared her views about Uganda.
In March 2016, she said her documentary, “The War On Children”, wrongly claimed that sex education aims to “indoctrinate” children and caused protests in Uganda.
The next year, she asked the group for opinions and materials for a new sexual rights film. In the early months of 2020, Slater’s documentary was expressed once again on Code Green. It was a show on Spirit TV, with local activists who praised her work.
However, studies show that LGBTQ+ people do not target children. The American Psychological Association confirms that LGBTQ+ adults are not more likely to harm children than heterosexual adults.
The leader of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Frank Mugisha, thinks that Western groups have become the source of spreading hate in Uganda. This resulted in harsh laws against LGBTQ+ people. Sexual Minorities Uganda faced different attacks and criticism from the government. Slater is linked to Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa, who supported the 2014 “Kill the Gays” bill.
Uganda’s court later canceled this bill because it wasn’t passed correctly. However, in 2014, there was no working relationship between Slater’s group, FWI, and Ssempa. This was due to his effort for the death penalty for some LGBTQ+ people; he remained listed as a volunteer until 2015.
Recently, Slater asked President Museveni to add “conversion therapy” to the Anti-Homosexuality Act. This practice tries to change a person’s sexual orientation but is widely rejected. Museveni later said he supported this idea but had to reconsider it because of its cost. Mugisha pointed out that the anti-LGBTQ+ actions in Uganda and other African countries are largely influenced by ideas from the West, especially the United States.