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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Ethiopia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the country. According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 97 percent〔The number of adults (all were 18 to 64 years of age) surveyed in Ethiopia was 710, yielding a margin of error of 4 percent with a 95 percent confidence level.〕 of Ethiopia residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the second-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed.〔("Pew Global Attitudes Project", (pages 35, 81, and 117) )〕 ==Law regarding same-sex sexual activity== Under Article 629 of the Criminal Code, both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Ethiopia. "Whoever performs with another person of the same sex a homosexual act, or any other indecent act, is punishable...." According to Article 630, the punishment is simple imprisonment for not less than one year, or, in certain grave or other cases, rigorous imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years.〔 A homosexual act is never considered a victimless crime in Ethiopian law; rather, the wording of the penal code recognizes that it is an act of an aggressor against a victim. Consequently, the offense of the aggressor is considered aggravated, when it results in the suicide of the victim.〔''Criminal Code of Ethiopia'' (2005) § 630.2.c.〕 Conservative attitudes around sex and sexuality remain prevalent in Ethiopia, with many Ethiopians believing that homosexuality is simply a choice and not innate. Arguments are made of it being an import from the West and that Ethiopian society should not accept it as a legitimate orientation. A 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project found 97% of Ethiopian residents said that homosexuality should be rejected by society. This was the second-highest percentage among the countries surveyed, exceeded only by Mali. Dr Seyoum Antoniyos, President of United for Life and influential activist organised a national conference in 2013 attended by politicians ad religious leaders. He promotes the opinion that homosexuality is not a human rights issue but rather the result of a “deep psychological problem”, often caused by abuse or some form of "social crisis”. In December 2008, nearly a dozen Ethiopian religious figures (including the leader of Ethiopian Muslims and the heads of the Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic churches) adopted a resolution against homosexuality, urging Ethiopian lawmakers to endorse a ban on homosexual activity in the constitution.〔(''2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ethiopia'', Section 5, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State )〕 This included Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, and the Anglican Bishop, Andrew Proud. They also blamed homosexuality for the rise in sexual attacks on children and young men. Abune Paulos, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, said, "This is something very strange in Ethiopia, the land of the Bible that condemns this very strongly. For people to act in this manner they have to be dumb, stupid like animals. We strongly condemn this behaviour. They (homosexuals) have to be disciplined and their acts discriminated, they have to be given a lesson."〔("Ethiopian clerics seek constitutional ban on homosexuality", AFP, 22 December 2008 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「LGBT rights in Ethiopia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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