"You'll Be Chased Away": Sources, Experiences, and Effects of Violence and Stigma among Gay and Bisexual Men in Kenya

Kenyan gay and bisexual men experience pervasive identity-based stigma and violence despite constitutional commitments to human rights. Colonial-era Kenyan Penal Code sections 162 and 165 criminalize consensual same-sex sexual behavior (punishable by up to 14 years), reinforcing heteronormative cultural and religious norms and facilitating harassment and discrimination. Prior research and human rights reports document high levels of violence, childhood abuse, and institutional discrimination, with mental health burdens among GBMSM substantially exceeding national averages. Guided by socio-ecological and minority stress frameworks, this study aims to identify interpersonal and institutional sources of stigma and violence, describe how they manifest in daily life, and illuminate their effects on health and wellbeing to inform interventions and policy change.

Existing qualitative and rights-based reports (HRW 2015; KHRC 2011) document severe, widespread violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Kenya, including blackmail, physical/sexual violence, expulsion from schools, and harassment by healthcare and religious institutions. Empirical studies among GBMSM in Kenya reveal high prevalence of violence, childhood abuse, depression, PTSD, harmful alcohol use, and suicidal ideation, with rates much higher than national estimates. Minority Stress theory (Meyer) and stigma frameworks (Link & Phelan) explain how distal (external) and proximal (internalized/concealment) stressors drive adverse mental and physical health outcomes; resilience frameworks highlight buffering roles of coping and social support. Prior work in Kenya shows healthcare stigma and lack of supportive family/peers as key barriers; resilience, social support, and affirming care improve outcomes. However, much research centers on HIV-related contexts, indicating a need to broaden understanding of non-HIV health impacts and to map sources and manifestations of stigma across socio-ecological levels.

Design: Qualitative phenomenological study using individual in-depth interviews (IDIs). Participants: N=60 gay and bisexual men, ages 18–50, residing in western (Kisumu) and central (Nairobi) Kenya. Sampling: Two-level stratified purposive sampling by geography (Kisumu, Nairobi) and age (18–24; 25–34; 35–50), ensuring diversity of sexual orientation identities. Inclusion criteria: assigned male at birth, currently identifies as a man; self-identifies as gay/bisexual/other non-heterosexual; age 18–50; English or Kiswahili; able to consent. Recruitment: Outreach via LGBTQ+-specific community-based organizations (CBOs) and clinics in Kisumu and Nairobi; no public materials used for safety. Procedures: Interviews conducted July–September 2018 by trained gay/bisexual Kenyan male interviewers in private rooms at CBO/clinic sites. Verbal consent obtained; brief demographics collected; IDIs audio-recorded; participants debriefed and given a monetary incentive and a resource guide. Language: Primarily English with some Kiswahili; interviewers bilingual. Duration: ~60 minutes (range 30–120). Transcription: Team members transcribed, de-identified, and quality-checked recordings. Ethics: Approved by US institutional IRBs and Kenyan Ethics Review Committee. Rigor: Prolonged community engagement, persistent observation, triangulation (five interviewers, six analysts from public health, psychology, social work), and member checking with interviewer team. Analytic approach: Inductive, phenomenological framework with social constructionist orientation; open coding by two analysts per transcript; weekly consensus meetings to develop/refine a formal codebook (adding, collapsing, eliminating, splitting codes). The original broad research question focused on factors negatively affecting mental health; current manuscript reports themes on interpersonal and institutional stigma/violence. Sample characteristics: Ages 20–46 (mean 29.3); identities gay/homosexual 76.3%, bisexual 23.7%; education mainly diploma (40.7%) or secondary school (25.4%); employment full-time 42.3%, part-time 39.0%; residence Kisumu 53.3%, Nairobi 46.7%; ethnicities Luo 55.2%, Kikuyu 13.8%, Luhya 12.1%; religious affiliation 96.7% (Catholic 37.3%, Anglican 23.7%).

Seven primary themes emerged, spanning interpersonal and institutional levels, with four sub-themes within romantic/sexual relationships. Interpersonal sources: 1) Family—harassment, rejection, pressure to marry women, beatings, expulsion from home, financial cut-off; repercussions included depression, suicidality, substance use, transactional/risky sex, and economic precarity. 2) Friends—harassment, rejection, betrayal, and gossip post-disclosure; many concealed orientation to avoid losing friendships; loss of support networks harmed mental well-being. 3) Romantic and/or sexual partners—manifold harms including: (3a) Gay-baiting violence—perpetrators feign interest (in person/online) to lure victims to secluded places for assault/theft; (3b) Blackmail—threats to out or falsely accuse in exchange for money/sex, with heightened risk for older/higher-SES men; (3c) Intimate partner violence—physical/sexual/emotional abuse leading to stress, mental health issues, and social/occupational impacts; (3d) Commitment phobia—criminalization and stigma necessitate secrecy, limit cohabitation/visibility, lack of legal recognition and role models, and promote perceptions that long-term relationships are not feasible. Institutional sources: 4) Religious institutions—condemnation from leaders and congregations; exclusion and harassment fostered concealment and avoidance of religious spaces, increasing stress; influential clergy perpetuated stigmatizing beliefs (e.g., curses/witchcraft). 5) Employment—discrimination in hiring/retention, arbitrary termination, hostile environments, and performance impacts from stress; fear of disclosure jeopardized job security. 6) Educational institutions—bullying, expulsion, transfer denials upon being outed; concealment to avoid punishment; external stress and mental health challenges undermined academic performance and continuity. 7) Healthcare institutions—denial of care, harassment, and rejection, especially for conditions revealing receptive anal sex (e.g., anal warts); fear of outing led to care avoidance and worsening untreated conditions; reliance on LGBTQ+-friendly clinics when available. Cross-cutting effects: Severe negative impacts on mental, physical, and sexual health; socioeconomic instability; barriers to accessing health-promoting services. Criminalization normalized violence, facilitated blackmail, and inhibited reporting/accountability.

Findings directly address the research aim by identifying and detailing interpersonal and institutional sources of stigma and violence and illustrating their manifestations and consequences. The results align with prior human rights reports and empirical studies and extend them by mapping sources across socio-ecological levels and highlighting subtypes within intimate relationships (gay-baiting, blackmail, IPV, commitment phobia). The narratives support the Minority Stress Model: distal stressors (external violence/discrimination) co-occur with proximal stressors (concealment, expectations of rejection, internalized stigma), collectively harming mental and physical health. Institutions that typically serve as resilience resources (family, religion, schools, workplaces, healthcare) instead frequently functioned as stigma sources, amplifying risk. Differences from prior reports (e.g., lack of explicit police violence narratives) likely reflect the interview guide’s focus. Implications include the need for decriminalization, targeted sensitization and myth-dispelling campaigns, comprehensive provider training, and resilience-building interventions (e.g., strengthening peer networks).

Kenyan gay and bisexual men face pervasive stigma and violence within intimate relationships and critical institutions meant to support health. Using an inductive phenomenological approach, the study identifies seven sources of stigma/violence and delineates their manifestations and impacts on mental, physical, sexual health, and socioeconomic wellbeing. The findings underscore urgent needs for policy change to decriminalize same-sex behavior, targeted sensitization across religious, educational, employment, and healthcare sectors, and interventions that bolster social support and resilience. Future research should examine stigma and violence across additional socio-ecological levels, geographic and demographic strata, include broader LGBTQ+ populations, and assess post–COVID-19 dynamics.

- Data collected only in two large urban centers (Kisumu and Nairobi); findings may not generalize to rural or other regions. - Recruitment through CBOs and clinics may under-represent highly closeted men not engaged with such organizations. - Analysis aggregated across sites; geographic variation not examined. - Focus exclusively on gay and bisexual men; does not capture experiences of lesbian, bisexual women, transgender, or other gender minorities. - Data collected pre–COVID-19; pandemic-related changes not captured.