At a shelter for lesbian women in Uganda's capital Kampala, gone are the days when the residents, having fled abuse and stigma at home, could breathe easy and be themselves.
That came to an end a month ago when parliament passed some of the world's strictest anti-LGBTQ legislation, which would criminalise the "promotion" of homosexuality and impose the death penalty for certain crimes involving gay sex.
President Yoweri Museveni said on Thursday that he supports the legislation but has requested some modifications from parliament, including provisions to "rehabilitate" gay people, before he signs it.
Staff at the shelter, a non-descript building in a busy part of town, now instruct residents to be discreet and blend into their surroundings, even if that means changing their behaviour or physical appearance.
"You won't find people sagging their pants and walking around in the shelter or ... bringing their girlfriends around the shelter and then making out at the gate," said Joan Amek, who runs the foundation that manages the facility.
"All that has been restricted one way or another."
Being LGBTQ in Uganda was not easy before. A British colonial-era law bans gay sex, and members of the community are often victims of violence and discrimination.
But LGBTQ Ugandans say nothing could have prepared them for the past few weeks as the bill's passage sent homophobic abuse into overdrive, unleashing a wave of arrests, evictions, denunciations by family members and mob attacks.
One resident contrasted the current atmosphere with 2013, when parliament passed a bill that strengthened penalties for same-sex relations. The resulting law was struck down by a domestic court several months later on procedural grounds.
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