30 April 2021 — 3 Trans Women Attacked in Cotonou, Benin

In April 2021, three trans women, Kani, Fati and Jennifer, were attacked by a group of men in a bar in Cotonou, Benin. The women were forced to strip naked and then beaten and robbed. The attack was filmed by the attackers and shared on social media. The women told Amnesty International that the attack was planned by someone they thought was their friend.

The Cotonou Court of First Instance sentenced one of the perpetrators to 12 months in prison.

Amnesty International’s West Africa Researcher, Fabien Offner, said

“This latest attack is a clear violation of the rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Constitution of Benin, to which all individuals are entitled.”

This is not the only attack on trans women in Benin documented by Amnesty International. According to the article by the organisation about this and later attacks,

“In its 2020-2021 report on the state of human rights in Benin, the Beninese Human Rights Commission described the situation for LGBTI people in the country as “worrying” and said “physical and sexual assaults, arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment” had all been inflicted on LGBTIQ+ people in recent years.

LGBTI people are often victims of violence and threats in Benin. This is despite significant progressive developments in Benin in recent years, such as the decriminalization of same-sex relationships in the country’s penal code in 2018.”

The LGBTI rights organisations in Benin who supported the women received threats, with the president and founder of one of the organisations receiving death and rape threats after posting a video calling for justice for the womens’ assault.