Sources report harassment, physical assault, arbitrary detention, and ill-treatment in detention by Togolese security forces and police, perpetrated against people on the grounds of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. A number of sources note the difficulties experienced by homosexual people in Togo in accessing protection from the police.
“[The UN Human Rights Committee] is [...] concerned by reports that the security forces have subjected persons to harassment, attacks, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention on grounds of their actual or presumed sexual orientation or gender identity. It is, furthermore, concerned by the restrictions imposed on associations concerned with defending persons targeted on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity […]”
“Among the documented cases, the following cases of arbitrary arrest can be reported :
A young homosexual reported that a youth who had stolen his mobile phone was blackmailing him after having seen ‘gay videos’ on the phone in question. While the owner of the phone tried to recover it, a fight broke out and brought them to the police station, where the matter took another turn. The sexual orientation of the owner of the phone became a hot topic because it was raised by the blackmailer, and he [owner of the phone], basically being the victim and complainant, found himself arrested and detained for 24 hours before being released. […]
On the night of 6 January 2021, a young homosexual was arrested by a police patrol while trying to escape from an ambush. He was taken to a police station and the police officers considered that he was out at night to steal. To justify that he was not a thief, he recounted the facts to the police. The officers summoned the partner of the youth and finally decided to send them both to prison because they were homosexuals. They were subsequently released on payment of an amount by AFRIQUE ARC-EN-CIEL […]
In a number of documented cases, the security and dignity of LGBT people was challenged :
In 2019, in a blackmail case between a homosexual and another person which was reported to the police station of Djidjolé, the police washed their hands of the matter and sent the complainant away, saying ‘just as you started this without us, you can end it without us’ […]
This situation does not only affect men but also lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, who are victims of double discrimination, on one hand linked to the condition of being a woman, and on the other, their sexual orientation or gender identity which does not conform to social expectations. [...]” (In-house translation. The translator is an English native speaker and is professionally fluent in French.)
ORIGINAL SOURCE
« Parmi les cas documentés on peut rapporter les suivants cas d’arrestations arbitraires:
• un jeune homosexuel a rapporté qu’un jeune ayant volé son téléphone portable lui faisait du chantage car ayant vu des vidéos gays dans ledit téléphone. Alors que ce dernier essayait de récupérer son téléphone, une bagarre a éclaté et les a emmenés au commissariat de police où l’affaire a pris une autre tournure, son orientation sexuelle étant devenue le motif d’actualité car le maitre-chanteur l’ayant brandi et lui la victime et plaignant à la base s’est retrouvé arrêté et détenu 24h avant d’être libéré. […]
• La nuit du 06 Janvier 2021, un jeune homosexuel a été arrêté par une patrouille de police alors qu’il essayait d’échapper d’un guet-apens. Il a été emmené au poste de police et les agents de police ont estimé qu’il était dans la nuit pour voler. Pour justifier qu’il n’était pas un voleur il a raconté les faits aux agents de police. Les agents ont interpellé le partenaire du jeune et ont finalement décidé de les envoyer tous deux en prison parce qu’étant des homosexuels. Ils ont ensuite été libérés moyennant le versement d’une somme par AFRIQUE ARC-EN-CIEL. […]
Dans nombres de cas documentés, la sécurité et la dignité des personnes LGBT ont été remises en question.
• En 2019, dans une affaire de chantage qui opposait un homosexuel à une autre personne, le commissariat de Djidjolé, saisie de l’affaire s’en est dessaisie et renvoyé le plaignant en disant « de la manière dont vous avez commencé sans nous, terminez sans nous». […]
Cette situation ne touche pas que les hommes mais aussi les femmes lesbiennes, bisexuelles et transgenre qui sont victimes d’une double discrimination d’une part liée à leur condition de femme et d’autre part à leur orientation sexuelle ou identité de genre qui n’est pas en conformité avec les attentes sociales. […] »
“Hostility is also present among state actors – for example, security forces which arrest LGBT people. In these situations, even when LGBT people seek police protection, they do not receive it. The legal framework is such that LGBT people do not have the support of the state. This reality means that [LGBT] people do not have the courage to seek justice because of the law criminalizing them, even if they are victims of aggression or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, whether committed by state or non-state actors. This encourages impunity. […]
ORIGINAL SOURCE
« L’hostilité est présente même au sein des acteurs étatiques par exemple des forces de l’ordre qui arrêtent les personnes LGBT. Et dans ces situations, même quand les personnes LGBT cherchent la protection de la police, elles n’en trouvent pas. Le cadre juridique fait que les personnes LGBT n’ont pas le soutien de l’État. Cette réalité fait que les personnes n’ont pas le courage d’aller vers la justice puisqu’une loi pénalisante existe quand bien même elles sont victimes d’agression, de traitements cruels inhumains ou dégradants, commis sur elles par des acteurs étatiques ou non. Ce qui encourage l’impunité. […]
“In recent years, several arrests [for same-sex sexual relations in Togo] have been documented, with reports including instances of police harassment, blackmail and arbitrary detention.”
“Violence against LGBTQI+ Persons: Police and other government officials tolerated violence against LGBTQI+ individuals. [...] The majority of LGBTQI+ persons did not report discrimination and abuses in view of the stigma and potential criminal consequences.”