Blog: Perspectives

To be eligible for a grant, organizations must work directly with and for LGBTIQ people (including MSM groups, trans groups, LBQ groups, and intersex groups), and be based outside the USA, Canada, the European Economic Area, the UK, Switzerland, Australia or New Zealand.

Caribbean Program Officer Neish McLean catches up with Alijah Caesar, a transgender man from Guyana who is an activist as well as a registered nurse, about his visibility, his activism and his work on the frontlines dealing with COVID-19.

Senior Communications Manager Daina, speaks with OutRight's Caribbean Program Officer Neish McLean about his race against time as borders shut down while trying to get home.

A worldwide pandemic has hit. Some governments are suggesting everyone remain inside their homes, others are enforcing it. If you are not already quarantined, physical  distancing is encouraged. Workplaces are closed, schools are closed, and homes - if you have one - are considered the safest place you can be. 

In any crisis, LGBTIQ communities are often disproportionately affected due to pre-existing vulnerabilities. The same is true as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

OutRight rightly anticipated that a spike in demand on LGBTIQ organizations would occur as LGBTIQ people experience increased food insecurity, unemployment, homelessness and domestic violence, but a decrease in resources as LGBTIQ organizations themselves struggle for financial survival.

Below is a resource created by a collective of LGBTIQ activists in Sri Lanka. This pdf is a condensed, informational guide on COVID-19 for LGBTIQ people including, what it is, how it spreads, and how we can protect ourselves. It provides additional information for those living with HIV and tips on how to practice safe-sex during the pandemic. Although the local resources are only applicable to those living in Sri Lanka, the pdf itself is relevant worldwide.

March 8, 2020, is International's Women's Day. Victories like women protesting in an all-male temple in India and the #metoo movement erupting in Nigeria are born side-by-side with the rollback of abortion rights in the US, and challenges to commitments to progress on gender equality at the UN. Our work advancing gender equality is becoming clouded by setbacks and it is hard to tell if I should be celebrating the progress we’ve made, or rallying for the work left to be done.