Bisexuality, gang violence and human trafficking

Kevin* becomes a victim of abuse and violence because of his bisexuality. To protect himself, he joins a gang, but a gang war causes him to flee. During his escape, he becomes a victim of human trafficking and is forced to work in prostitution for years before he is able to escape and seek asylum.

Kevin is a 36-year-old man from an African country. His mother runs a restaurant and his father is a businessman. As an only child, he finds out at an early age that he is different from others. Namely, he falls in love with boys as well as girls. Both at school and by his parents, he is punished for his dealings with boys. In the process, he is beaten with a cane and ruler. His mother sees his bisexuality as a spiritual problem and takes him to different churches to get him cured.

Kevin is smart and goes to college. At college, fellow students catch him with a boyfriend, after which he is assaulted. This involves Kevin being beaten many times and stabbed with a knife in his genitals. There is a group in and around school attacking him. The incidents increase and so do the intimidations.

To protect him, a friend introduces him to a gang. He is sent blindfolded to a forest for a ritual in which he is beaten and stabbed with stones, hoes, knives, machetes, axes and guns by a group of about 40 boys. This eventually renders him unconscious.

Afterwards, he wakes up in his own bed while being cared for by his friend. He now understands that all this time in college he was being harassed by a rival gang. The incidents and harassment cease because he is now protected by the gang he joined.

In his third year of study, violence between rival gangs suddenly flares up. Shots are fired and everyone runs in panic in all directions. Kevin is injured by hail blasts. A traditional healer has been able to remove almost all the pellets of hail.

Soon after, his own gang wants him to take an active part in the fight against the other gang. He does not like this and, in addition, is still wounded by the incident. At this he decides to flee the country. This is difficult because two men are watching him closely. When he can go to the bathroom alone, he escapes and goes on the run. His own gang takes revenge and they kill not only his father but also his friend.

Kevin’s flight goes through Libya where he ends up imprisoned and is severely mistreated. To be released, he must pay a large sum of money. And so Kevin becomes a victim of human trafficking. To pay the debt to the human trafficker, he has to work in a European country in prostitution and as a drug courier. At some point he manages to flee to the Netherlands.

The examination by iMMO identifies many scars. In accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, a number of scars are assessed as typical and highly consistent with the events described. The psychological examination reveals that he has post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms and somberness complaints.

The legal follow-up can be found here.

* All names are fictitious.