Two trans women in Cameroon have been convicted of “attempting homosexuality” and have been sentenced to five years in prison.

It’s an indication that Cameroon’s persecution of LGBTQ people is getting worse.

The Guardian reports that the two women were convicted on Tuesday. The charges included public indecency and non-possession of a national ID card.

According to a statement from the lawyer for the women, Richard Tamfu, they were arrested in February of this year – they were in a restaurant in Doula, Cameroon’s largest city. The women were apparently targeted because of the way that they were dressed. Their lawyer says that they have suffered physical abuse while in detention.

“The impact is that a clear message is being sent to the LGBT+ community that they are not welcome in Cameroon…” said Tamfu. “It’s for them to know that if you happen to be arrested you could be imprisoned for five years.”

“We know that in the Cameroonian penal code, homosexuality is punished, [at] between six months to five years…” added Tamfu. “So for someone prosecuted for attempted homosexuality, to have received five years it is very severe.”

No evidence was provided by the court in relation to any alleged same-sex sexual activity.

The women are believed to be at high risk of assault while in prison. An appeal against the conviction has been submitted.

Before 2013, Cameroonian authorities were among the most aggressive in the world for prosecuting same-sex acts. After years of prosecutions falling significantly, there has been a surge in the past year of reported incidents, said Neela Goshal, LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“We’re concerned that in the last year we’ve seen more arrests…” said Goshal. “Now to see a severe five-year conviction suggests that Cameroon is going back into a full on assault on LGBT+ people again.”

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Cameroon?

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Cameroon? Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.

Is homosexuality legal in Cameroon?

No, same-sex sexual activity is illegal.

The prohibition against same-sex sexual activity was adopted in 1972. The penalty is generally imprisonment, for a period of about five years.

There are also penalties attached if you are caught making sexual propositions via electronic communications such as email or dating apps.

Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Cameroon?

No, there are no protections for LGBTQ people.

Is there Marriage Equality in Cameroon?

No, there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Cameroon?

Cameroon is a socially conservative country and homosexuality is seen as a taboo topic.

Homophobia is systemic, and LGBTQ people are forced to conceal their sexuality.

A traditional approach to same-sex relationships

The Bafia people are the traditional inhabitants of the central region of Cameroon.

In 1921, a German ethnographer by the name of Günther Tessmann documented the three stages of life of a Bafia man and noted the important role that same-sex sexual activity played in Bafia communities.

The three stages were:

kiembe, men who did have any sexual relationships with women. It starts around 15 years old.

ntu, men who had sexual relationships with women.

mbäng, fathers, men who have children.

Kiembe boys were prohibited to have sexual and social contacts with prepubescent girls at the risk of being tortured or enslaved – there was a fierce competition to get the available women. The only option left of those kiembe men was to develop a close male sexual friendship with a lexan. A lexan was a kiembe boy of a younger or of the same age who is in the same situation. Anal sex was the accepted sexual intercourse between a kiembe and a lexan and their sexual encounters were not hidden away – for instance, it was normal for a father to come back home and surprise his son performing a sexual act and to laugh it off.

Even after a kiembe had begun having sex with women and had graduated to ntu, it was not uncommon for the men to continue the sexual relationship they had established with each other when younger.

Upon reaching the mbäng stage, the father would often name his newborn after his lexan, regardless of the gender of the baby.