Africa: The violence of intolerance

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has spoken out about intolerance towards sexual minorities in Africa and elsewhere. 'Everyday, in every country, individuals are persecuted, vilified or violently assaulted, and even killed, because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Covert or overt, homophobic violence causes enormous suffering which is often shrouded in a veil of silence and endured in isolation.'