Emancipation and development are inextricably linked to the right to freedom, self-determination and equal access to opportunities and possibilities. For that reason the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) or any other sexual minority are also important in this process. Hivos supports partner organisations in their struggle for social acceptance, the freedom to express sexual identity, counteracting homophobia and scrapping anti-gay laws.
Posted on | 05/10/2010
Regional Youth MSM and Transgender Consultation Meeting
The Regional Youth MSM and Transgender Consultation Meeting was successfully held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 1-3 September 2010. 33 participants from 13 countries in Southeast Asia and Pacific regions participated in this meeting.
Standing by the gay community
For over thirty years Pink Saturday has been celebrated in The Netherlands: a manifestation for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) organized by a different Dutch city on the last Saturday of June every year. This year Pink Saturday was held in Amersfoort on 26 June 2010. On Pink Saturday, Hivos draws attention to the violation of fundamental rights of gays and lesbians in developing countries and attracts sponsors for its LGBT programme.
Hivos supports LGBT partner organisations in developing countries
Launched in 1991, Hivos’ gay emancipation programme revolves around financial support, knowledge sharing, capacity building and lobby and advocacy on behalf of LGBT organisations and groups in developing countries. Hivos supports over 50 partner organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America that fight for gay and lesbian rights.
Hivos’ gay emancipation policy explained
Hivos has been active in the field of gay emancipation since 1991. What prompted Hivos’ involvement was the increasing visibility of the impact of HIV/Aids. As the HIV epidemic was holding back the development process in many countries, we wanted to develop a policy for this as quickly as possible. Hivos decided to focus on a group of people who were at a double disadvantage due to the effects of HIV/Aids. Homosexual men are such a group, as they are excluded and stigmatised on account of their sexual orientation and because in many countries they are perceived to be the carriers of the epidemic.
Fighting for (sexual) rights of LGBTs in Ecuador
Until the late 1990s homosexuality was prohibited in Ecuador. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBTs) who could not hide their sexual orientation were discriminated against and abused, even by the police with whom they filed reports. Public opinion has been changing in recent years, however. One of the instigators of this change is Hivos partner FAMIVIDA.
Hivos remains largest donor to gay emancipation worldwide
Hivos is still the largest donor worldwide in the field of gay emancipation, as appears from the recently published report by the American research agency Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues.
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