The Worlds Worst Place To Be Gay 1/4

Aired on BBC 3 14th February 2011

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

Link to the BBC site for the programme:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yrt1c

Review from The Independent (includes spoilers)

BBC3 offered The World's Worst Place to Be Gay. How do you get more people to watch your documentary? Give it a teasing title, clearly intended to grab floating viewers by piquing their interest. Gosh, where could it be, the world's worst place to be gay? Afghanistan? China? North Korea? Tunbridge Wells?

It turns out to be Uganda, at least according to the Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, who is himself gay. He went to Kampala and indeed found plenty of depressing evidence of institutionalised homophobia, and this was before the murder last month of the Ugandan gay-rights activist David Kato. Africa generally is becoming a dangerous place to be openly gay -- no fewer than 37 African countries have declared homosexuality illegal -- but Uganda is evidently the most dangerous, with a prominent politician called David Bahati championing legislation -- bluntly called the Anti-Homosexuality Act -- which would introduce life imprisonment for people found "guilty" of same-gender sex, and the death penalty for "serial offenders".

If only this represented the ranting of a right-wing zealot, out of step with public opinion. In fact, Mills found perfectly bright schoolchildren who are likewise of the view that homosexuality is an "abomination", and met a newspaper editor who insisted that it reduces the human lifespan by 24 years. A young lesbian told him that she had been raped in an attempt to cure her of her orientation, yet far from curing her, the rape left her pregnant and HIV-infected.

All this is a relatively recent phenomenon, apparently visited upon Africa by the growing influence there of American evangelists. And where angry shouting doesn't work, glib humour is deployed. "In the beginning it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," offered a panellist on a phone-in radio show.

Trying to tackle this bigotry was obviously going to be well beyond Mills and his producer Chris Alcock (whose end-credit, though I probably shouldn't admit it, at least generated a smile at the conclusion of what was otherwise a thoroughly disheartening hour of television). But I'd like to have seen them try a little harder to state the case for tolerance and rationality. Instead, our engaging presenter's tactic was mainly to throw up his hands in horror, and turn to the camera for solidarity.

He was also, I think, rather disingenuous in presenting modern Britain as the antithesis of Uganda. In many ways it is, but it's not as though homophobia is unknown here, nor is it so many years since David Copeland let off his murderous nail-bomb in Old Compton Street. Still, this was a brave and enlightening documentary, almost too brave for its own good, in fact, because it concluded with an interview with the witchfinder-general himself, the appalling Bahati, during which our man admitted to being gay. The interview was abruptly terminated, and Mills was lucky to escape the country, if not so much with his life, then certainly with the tapes. We should all be glad that he, and they, made it safely home.

This documentary is owned by the BBC.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• gay
• uganda
• scott
• mills
• bbc
• homophobia
• David
• Bahati
• Anti-Homosexuality
• Act
• Documentary

[ClearCrystal92]

If they disprove of Homosexuality, let them. Uganda are allowed to make their own decisions... and besides homosexuality isn't "all that". I don't believe in this crap about "people were born gay" and "its not a choice". Its just nonsense

[langsense]

@ClearCrystal92

Well that's your opinion and you're welcome to it. However, what makes this law interesting is that it's beginnings may have come from the USA.

[cross22china]

I dont care if people are gay but why dont we just leave other countries alone. Its none of business to push our ways on other people, no matter how terrible it might seem.

[langsense]

@cross22china

Then why watch the video? Also, there is links between this new law in Uganda and American politicians and religious groups. So it's from interference of another country that this is possibly happening and i'm sure they'd be happy if you didn't care or notice.

[LieutKusa]

Thanks for posting this. Have you seen the documentary Missionaries of Hate from Vanguard? It was a really good documentary on Uganda also. The AtheistsUnited Page have it titled Missionaries Of Hate - Vanguard - Part 1/5. Their video is a little laggy, but Hulu no longer posts the entire show.

[langsense]

@LieutKusa

will look them up, thanks. :-)

[MrStoorzender]

Those damned christian hypocrite hellpriests must get the fuck out of people's bedrooms. All around the world catholic priests fuck children in secret. And Mohammed slept with 13 year olds. That is bad. Because there is a difference in power structure. What two adult people decide to do is no one's bussiness but between those two. Point. Love is good.

[welcometomylife96]

It's not just that they're saying that they should be killed, it's that they're smiling as they say it

[llwayneio]

@ClearCrystal92 If it were as simple as being a lifestyle choice, why would these people continue and risk suffering the death penalty?

[TheKeyboardMaster100]

Doesn't the bible say to love one other and to be treated like you would want people to treat you? And what's the song at 13:06

[sergioapuzzo]

haters

[eternalpengel87]

This is one of the top 10 most corrupted countries on Earth and people are worried about homosexuality?? They live in terrible living conditions and we are concerned about someones sexual orientation??

[Hollowroy]

Okay I haven't seen the whole video yet but just some thoughts: I feel like maybe Uganda is just us from before. It's terrible, and I hate it, but I think it's got to be like this before it can get better. They're just at a different stage of development

That's of course looking at it from a purely clinical, detached sort of view. When I let my feelings get in the way, I'm outraged. But if we push out views on them now, they'll only reject them until they come to the conclusion themselves.

[Vietnamemperor12346]

people are still ignorant. south africa is the only country in africa that allow same sex marriage and they're the richest nation in africa while other african countries who hate gay people are third world nation isn't that something? lol not try to be stupid but the more the people are open minded a better society will be created cause more people will accept each other and work together peacefully.

[RedemptionHound]

Never really liked Africans in the first place. Now I really hate them.