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About Us

Our Story

Outright International works together for better LGBTIQ lives.

Outright is dedicated to working with partners around the globe to strengthen the capacity of the LGBTIQ human rights movement, document and amplify human rights violations against LGBTIQ people, and advocate for inclusion and equality.  

We Amplify

We see the world and are a global witness to the struggles and successes of our communities, documenting the lived realities and producing groundbreaking research. We work in partnership and ensure LGBTIQ voices are heard.

We Support

We connect activists to a growing and powerful global movement.  We support activism through Strategic advice, Training, Funding, Networking, and Crisis Response.

We Advocate

We support innovative advocacy and use our collective might to carry the voices of activists to advance equality and end violence and discrimination. We drive change, power, and meaningful progress across governments, institutions, businesses, and communities.

We Celebrate

Love. Diverse identities. Expression. Progress and wins. Change.

Dedicated to the LGBTIQ human rights movement

Outright International was founded in 1990 by activist Julie Dorf, with considerable involvement from other activists, like Russian author, journalist and activist Masha Gessen. Initially called the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the organization aimed to eradicate the persecution, inequality and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people face around the world. Through the years, the geographic focus of the organization shifted to working to promote the human rights of LGBTIQ people worldwide.

Our Journey to Make An Impact

    1990

    U.S. activist Julie Dorf launched what was then known as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). In the early years, the organization focused on Russia, campaigning to decriminalize same-sex relations and end the psychiatric hospitalization of LGBTIQ people. IGLHRC also worked to bring anti-retroviral medication and condoms into the country where access to HIV/AIDS preventive measures and treatment was non-existent.

      1991

      IGLHRC campaigned to ensure that Amnesty International changed its mandate to include abuses against LGBT people.

        1992

        With Congressman Barney Frank, IGLHRC met with Russian officials to advocate for the repeal of the country’s sodomy law. That same year, the organization helped secure an Argentinian gay man’s asylum to Canada.

          1993

          After documenting over 1,200 murders of LGBT people in Brazil for over a decade, IGLHRC supported the first successful sexual orientation asylum case in the U.S. The organization also persuaded the U.S. State Department to include the persecution of LGBT people in their annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices report.

            1994

            IGLHRC launched the Felipa de Souza Award, which is named after a Brazilian woman who endured torture and exile after proudly declaring her love for another woman in the 16th century.

              1995

              At the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, IGLHRC ensured that sexual rights were included in official discussions, giving lesbian issues unprecedented visibility.

                1996

                IGLHRC began intensive regional work in Africa and the Middle East. The organization also produced its first-ever resource guide on asylum based on sexual orientation.

                  1997

                  In South Asia, IGLHRC worked with activists to orchestrate the first meeting between LGBT community leaders and the Dalai Lama.

                    1998

                    Through IGLHRC’s advocacy and diplomacy, the President of Romania agreed to pardon gay men and lesbians imprisoned under the country’s sodomy law. IGLHRC also conducted intensive training for activists based in Argentina, Hong Kong, Hungary, Nicaragua, South Africa, Turkey, and Zimbabwe.

                    1999-berlin

                      1999

                      In South Africa, IGLHRC established a network of pro bono attorneys to work on LGBTIQ issues. Meanwhile, the organization increased its collaboration with activists in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. IGLHRC also launched a campaign with other U.S. activists to persuade the World Trade Organization to provide life-saving AIDS drugs to those who need them.

                        2000

                        As part of the Pink Triangle Coalition, IGLHRC convened a conference in Berlin on the Nazi persecution of “homosexuals.” At a U.N. event marking the fifth anniversary of the Beijing conference, IGLHRC published a report on how sexuality is used to attack women’s organizing efforts.

                          2001

                          In India, IGLHRC mobilized an emergency response network to help win the release of four HIV-prevention workers after their five week-imprisonment.

                            2002

                            During a productive year of training, IGLHRC conducted workshops with human rights activists in India, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and South Africa. The organization led a workshop on harm reduction with AIDS activists in Thailand.

                              2003

                              IGLHRC released a report on the consequences of state-sponsored homophobia in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

                                2004

                                In collaboration with Nepal’s Blue Diamond Society, IGLHRC worked to win the release of 39 HIV workers while also fighting attempts to revoke the organization’s legal status. In support of the Brazilian resolution on human rights and sexual orientation, IGLHRC helped bring dozens of activists to engage with the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

                                  2005

                                  IGLHRC launched its first Latin American Human Rights Advocacy Institute. In El Salvador, the organization’s documentation on transgender abuse helped win a temporary reprieve in a U.S. asylum case from that country.

                                    2006

                                    In Cameroon, IGLHRC helped gain the release of 11 gay men who were imprisoned. IGLHRC published “Voices of Nigeria,” which documented the experiences of Nigerian LGBTIQ citizens after the government attempted to pass the “Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.”

                                      2007

                                      With a focus on Central American lesbian and bisexual women and Spanish-speaking Caribbean movement leaders, IGLHRC held its second Latin American Human Rights Advocacy Institute. The organization helped bring the first-ever delegation of LGBTIQ activists to the African Commission on Human Rights and People’s Rights in Africa.

                                        2008

                                        With the launch of its OutSpoken Award, IGLHRC recognized Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s leadership as a global ally of the LGBTIQ community. It was the first direct address by the theologian, human rights activist to a major LGBTIQ gathering in the U.S., in which he apologized on behalf of the faith community for the marginalization of gay people.

                                        In the same year, IGLHRC helped establish the United Nations Core Group, which started as seven member states collaborating to advance LGBTIQ equality and in 2023, it reached 42 member states. Through this, the organization led the drafting and passage of the only U.N. resolution uplifting LGBTIQ rights. The team also advocated for the creation of the U.N. Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity position, which monitors the health of LGBTIQ communities and human rights abuses globally.

                                          2009

                                          While continuing to provide technical assistance to the country’s young LGBTIQ movement, IGLHRC helped secure the release and pardon of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga of Malawi who were arrested, held without bail and tried for loving outside of gender norms.

                                          Photograph: Eldson Chagara/Reuters

                                            2010

                                            IGLHRC attained consultative status with the U.N. Economic and Social Council, allowing the organization and its partners' unprecedented access to decision makers in the global body. The organization held its third Latin American Human Rights Advocacy Institute in the Americas while also inaugurating its first Institute in Asia. The team also testified before the U.S. Congress about efforts to export homophobia from the U.S., which resulted in an anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda.

                                              2011

                                              In a groundbreaking achievement affirming the universality of human rights, the U.N. Human Rights Council passed the first-ever resolution on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In Haiti, IGLHRC documented the alarming increase of anti-LGBTIQ human rights violations, violence, and discrimination in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake.

                                                2012

                                                Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned Chile for stripping Karen Atala, a lesbian mother and judge, of custody of her three daughters on the basis of her sexual orientation. IGLHRC co-authored a brief criticizing the decision.

                                                  2013

                                                  On Human Rights Day, the organization led a panel at the United Nations that featured Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, athletes, and LGBTIQ human rights defenders to draw attention to homophobia and transphobia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

                                                    2014

                                                    The organization convened 30 Liberian activists to develop an immediate strategy to protect LGBTIQ Liberians. In Southeast Africa, IGLHRC assisted Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) in the writing and submission of a shadow report to the U.N. that found that “lesbian, bisexual and transgender people living in Zimbabwe are confronted by systematic discrimination on a daily basis.”

                                                    After two years of joint support for humanitarian assistance to vulnerable LGBTIQI people in Iraq, IGLHRC worked with partners to raise awareness for their desperate plight by publishing two groundbreaking briefings.

                                                    In The Philippines, IGLHRC co-coordinated the Quezon City “Gender Fair Ordinance,” a pioneering non-discrimination municipal law protecting the city’s LGBTIQ citizens. This served as an important model and case study.

                                                      2015

                                                      IGLHRC officially changed its name to OutRight Action International (OutRight). Then executive director, Jessica Stern, addressed the first-ever U.N. Security Council meeting on violence against LGBTIQ people. In her speech, she urged world governments to act immediately to protect those targeted by extremist persecution and cruel acts in Iraq and Syria.

                                                      The organization launched the first episode of a commissioned graphic novel, “Yousef and Farhad,” which talked about the struggle for acceptance by two fictional gay men in Iran. The publication kicked off its #LoveForAll digital campaign.

                                                      In partnership with CUNY Law School, OutRight debuted its first OutSummit conference. The inaugural panel focused on the historical analysis of the LGBTIQ movement over the last 25 years. OutSummit has become an annual conference that coincides with Human Rights Day.

                                                        2016

                                                        The organization launched research on how media across the Arab world reported on LGBTIQ issues. The findings collected were used to establish a training program for LGBTIQ journalists in the region.

                                                          2017

                                                          In support of a growing movement for LGBTIQ rights in the Caribbean, OutRight helped legally register four new organizations, including the first trans organization in Jamaica.

                                                            2018

                                                            While using a quote from one of the organization’s reports, India’s Supreme Court decriminalized same-sex relations, impacting millions of people.

                                                            Photo: An activist of the LGBT community celebrates after the Supreme Court's verdict of decriminalizing gay sex and revocation of the Section 377 law in Bengaluru, India. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

                                                              2019

                                                              After launching the first global report on so-called conversion therapy and documenting its harmful effects, OutRight launched a campaign to end conversion practices in Africa with three regional partners.

                                                                2020

                                                                As a consequence of the unprecedented health emergency brought upon by the pandemic, OutRight launched its COVID-19 Fund to support LGBTIQ communities and organizations on the frontlines of responding to the crisis. To date, OutRight has distributed 3.8M USD across 108 countries.

                                                                  2021

                                                                  A tremendous recognition as longtime OutRight executive director Jessica Stern departed to join the Biden Administration and State Department as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons.

                                                                  In its commitment to ensure that trans and nonbinary people are not only not left behind or forgotten, OutRight launched its global trans program with activist and movement leader, Rikki Nathanson.

                                                                    2022

                                                                    In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, OutRight created the Ukraine Emergency Fund as part of its Queering Humanitarian Response initiative. The fund has distributed 1.59M USD in grants to support LGBTIQ organizations in Ukraine and surrounding countries as they continue to require immediate and sustained financial support to meet the needs of LGBTIQ people who are turning to them for life-saving help as a result of the war.

                                                                    To strengthen lesbian, bisexual, and queer activism and boost their visibility, OutRight debuted its LBQ Connect Program with a focus on mentorship, grants, research, and advocacy.

                                                                    OutRight appointed Maria Sjödin as the new executive director.

                                                                    Undergoing a brand refresh, we changed our name from OutRight Action International to Outright International and clarified our mission to ensure human rights for LGBTIQ people everywhere through our brand pillars: Amplify, Advocate, Support, and Celebrate.

                                                                      2023

                                                                      In a year of unprecedented growth for the organization, we expand to a team of 50 staff members in 25 countries. Together, we hosted our first Celebration of Courage Awards and Gala (including the Felipa de Souza, Outspoken, and Outstanding awards) that raised over $1 Million USD.

                                                                      With support from Google.org, Outright launched our third Pride Around the World report and first-ever interactive map, visualizing and identifying Pride and other LGBTIQ visibility events worldwide as a measure of the persistence and resistance of LGBTIQ movements globally.

                                                                      Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws. To support Ugandan activists who sacrifice their safety and security to defend human rights, we opened our Support LGBTQ People in Uganda Fund to challenge and end this extremism in Uganda and across the region.

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