Channel 4’s Dispatches looks into organisations that support anti-gay laws

The team behind Hunted, the award-winning documentary that investigated the extent of gay hate crime in Russia, are back with Hunted: Gay and Afraid, an exposé about organisations that are pushing for anti-gay laws around the world.

Filmed in four continents, the hour-long special programme uncovers a well-funded movement against gay rights, led by international coalitions that are purportedly protecting family values.

These organisations include the US-based World Congress of Families, an umbrella organisation of conservative religious groups with a presence in more than 80 countries. Dispatches reporter Liz MacKean and co. find out how the WCF have lobbied the Slovakian government to pass laws that curtail gay rights, as well as support anti-gay laws in Russia.

Jonathan Cooper QC of the Human Dignity Trust, a legal charity in support of challenging anti-gay laws, said such legislation “makes the gay and lesbian community outlaws”.

He said, “They’re literally outlaws – they are outside the protection of the law under all circumstances. With these measures, you get attacks on the gay and lesbian community, you get extortion, you get arbitrary detention, you get all sorts of violence, people being made homeless, people getting fired [and] generally creating this dysfunctional society, which is what they’ve managed to do.”

Hunted: Gay and Afraid will air on Thursday, July 23 at 11:05pm on Channel 4.