Over the past decade, East Africa has become synonymous with state-sponsored homo/ transphobia, marked by draconian legislation and recurring moral panics. These escalating dynamics have forced many LGBTQI East Africans to flee their homes. Yet it would be wrong to characterise East Africa solely as a producer or host of LGBTQI refugees. It is also a site of activism and community, of belonging and enterprise, where the limits of protection mechanisms are tested and redefined. Bringing together diverse case studies and interdisciplinary perspectives, this collection features original creative works by queer and trans diasporic writers and artists to explore the drivers, impacts and meanings of queer and trans displacement in and from the region. East African Queer and Trans Displacements is an open access collection that offers the first in-depth examination of queer and trans displacement in the region. The latest book launch was held on 13 April 2026 at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS). It brought together three of the editors—Dr. B. Camminga (University of Bristol), Dr Barbara Bompani (University of Parma) and Dr John Marnell (Wits University)—in conversation with Dr Kudzaiishe Vanyoro (Wits University) and Shinta Jennifer Ayebazibwe (University of Johannesburg).   Speaking about his book chapter, titled: ‘I sucked a lot of dicks to get this place!’ Homemaking and care practices among East African LGBTQ refugees, Dr Marnell explained that one of the things that really stood out for him, when he was conducting his fieldwork, was the level of variation in housing practices, locations, and the kinds of different social arrangements that existed between housings. These range from people living in dire, vulnerable, and often dangerous situations, right through to people living in fancy complexes in the suburbs of northern Johannesburg, to a pseudo-statehouse that is organically developed in a Cape Town multi-level boarding house, which now houses a big contingent of queer and trans refugees.

He goes on to argue that “Part of the problem… is that so much of the focus is always on protection contexts. Which in this case usually is a dysfunctional asylum system or these very legal barriers to protection.”

Watch the video below for more on this:

Also see Dr Camminga discussing their chapter on ‘Parallel legal regimes: Homotransnationalism, LGBTQI+ refugees and a failing international protection system’: <B’s video>

Download the book for free here: East African Queer and Trans Displacements.