Rights group decries 'forced anal exams' in 8 countries

Human Rights Watch is urging an end to “forced anal examinations” with a report documenting them in eight countries, including Lebanon and Egypt, saying the practice is based on flawed ideas about supposedly proving homosexual conduct.

In a report released today, the advocacy group calls the examinations “a form of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment” that amounts to sexual assault, violates international conventions and could rise to the level of torture.

The report draws on interviews with 32 men and transgender women subjected to the exams in eight countries that ban same-sex conduct: Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia.

— AP