A wave of homegrown leaders, movements and activists is sweeping across the continent and bringing with it African solutions to Africa's LGBTI people. Their efforts and alliances have resulted in palpable change in legislation, court decisions, health policies and shifting public opinion across Africa. They need support.

The world has edged closer to placing the same value on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people as it does on human rights. Sadly, not all states, including many African countries, are on the same page.

Closing space for African sexual and gender minority groups is about far more than advocacy—it is about accessing critical services that no one else provides.

Entrenched racism going back to the days of slavery is the reason behind frequent killings of Black men by White policemen in America. White officers see themselves as slave masters who must be obeyed without question by the Black slave.

The Bugis, numbering around three million people and mostly Muslim, have five terms referencing various combinations of sex, gender and sexuality: female woman, male man, female man, male woman and transgender priests.