No. 116/2024

IS HEALTH A MATTER OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION, ALEX MÜLLER? Inmany countries, queer people have problems accessing healthcare services. There are prejudices about homosexuality; in some places it is even banned. But health researchers like AlexMüller are fighting for equal rights, also by cooperatingwithhuman rights organisations. Deviating from what is considered the heterosexual norm is still taboo in many places. At best, queer people are tolerated, but usually experience discrimination and are often even persecuted. Alex Müller is investigating how this can impact health provision. For example, Müller has conducted surveys on the connection between sexual orientation and access to healthcare services in nine African countries: “Across the board, the percentage of queer people who experience violence, suffer from depression or anxiety and attempt suicide is considerably higher than amongst heterosexuals – and this is a result of structural circumstances.” African states often have fairly progressive constitutions regarding things like the private sphere and medical provision, because the states and their laws are still relatively new. However, when it comes to sexual freedom, they often adopted old regulations from colonial times that mean queer people are stigmatised or find it difficult to access healthcare services. In some cases, doctors refuse to treat them or deny them contraceptives, citing the ban on same-sex love. Müller’s scientific findings also inform court cases in which queer people litigate against the curtailment of their sexual freedom. In Botswana, for example, Müller worked together with human rights organisations to support a gay man who had filed a suit to challenge the restrictive legal situation. Successfully: in 2019, the ban on homosexuality was abolished. Text JAN BERNDORFF DR ALEX MÜLLER conducts research at the Institute of International Health at Charité in Berlin and was a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Göttingen in 2020/21. 9 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 116/2024