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Expanding Work Tackling Gender-Based Violence in the Caribbean
September 11, 2020| Contributed by Daina Ruduša - OutRight Sr Communications Manager
Gender-based violence is a phenomenon most often associated with violence perpetrated by men against women. Yet it is also the most common form of violence faced by LGBTIQ people. What leads to gender-based violence are archaic perceptions of gender roles and appearances, toxic masculinity and notions of how things “should be”. As such, anyone who somehow does not fit, or worse still, challenges what is perceived as the norm, can be a target and victim of gender-based violence (GBV).
OutRight TV: Organizational Sustainability: OutRight COVID-19 Grant Recipient
September 11, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Africa Program Officer Yvonne Wamari speaks to Ishamael Bahati of PEMA Kenya. PEMA advances the human rights of gender and sexual minorities in Kenya and was one of OutRight's COVID-19 grant recipients. Ishamael talks about an inability to access government relief, hostile home environments, and the importance of maintaining organizational sustainability beyond relief money through social and economic empowerment programs.
OutRight TV: Filipino Resilience: OutRight COVID-19 Grant Recipient
September 3, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of Outright TV, Asia Program Coordinator Ging Cristobal speaks to Maroz Ramos of GALANG Philippines. GALANG is one of the organizations in the Philippines that received a grant from OutRight's COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency fund. Maroz talks about GALANG's focus on the intersection of LBT rights, economic disadvantage, and feminism and shares how they were able to provide support to more than 200 people from 4 regional LBT organizations with their grant.
OutRight TV: Changing the Narrative
August 28, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Communications Assistant Kate Martin speaks to Beijing +25 fellow Ro-Ann Mohammed. Ro-Ann talks about her work diversifying the LGBTIQ narrative in the Caribbean through Pride events, research, and her organization, SHE Barbados. Ro-Ann encourages the global North to be mindful of the rhetoric used when speaking about homophobia in the Caribbean.
OutRight TV: Hope for LGBTIQ Equality
August 11, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, UN Program Officer Luiza Veado talks to Human Rights Specialist Miguel Mesquita from Organization of American States. Together they talk about how the pandemic has exposed existing vulnerabilities, achievements in the LGBTIQ community, and solidarity among marginalized groups.
President Duda, “LGBT-Free Zones” and the Growth of Nationalism in Poland
August 10, 2020| Contributed by Katherine Martin - OutRight Communications Assistant
Homophobia and the claim that same-sex love poses a threat to so-called “traditional family values” drive injustices that take place against members of our community every day. Acts of violence, discrimination, and hate work to keep the LGBTIQ communities in the margins of society. 67 counties around the world continue to criminalize same-sex relations.
Fundraiser for Helem, Beirut-based LGBTIQ Organization
August 10, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
The enormous explosion in Beirut that killed almost 150 people and left more than 300,000 homeless, also impacted Helem, the oldest LGBTIQ organization in Lebanon. The Helem community and service centers were less than half a mile from the epicenter of the explosion and suffered heavy damages as a result. However, the true tragedy was the enormous number of individuals who are now left homeless and without basic needs. Staff and volunteers have been heavily involved in the relief effort around the city but they can do so much more with our help. Thousands of individuals are in need of shelter, food, money for repairs, and medical equipment.
OutRight TV: On Pride and Partnership in Latvia
August 6, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV Senior Communications Manager Daina Ruduša speaks to her friend, and long-time LGBTIQ and human rights activist Kaspars Zālītis in Riga, Latvia. They talk about how far Latvia has come, about the drastic contrast between societal acceptance and political will, of the concerning development of a local nationalist politician being inspired by "LGBT Free Zones" in Poland, and just maybe, the hopeful possibility of partnership legislation on the horizon.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda and its Implications for LGBTIQ People
August 4, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda needs to address a more inclusive and equitable peace for people of all genders, sexual orientations, and gender expressions. Some organizations, including OutRight Action International, have been advocating for an LGBTIQ-inclusive understanding of the WPS agenda. This is why OutRight created a document that provides more information about how you can get involved in this effort at the UN level.
OutRight TV: Productivity Versus Burnout
August 3, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Luiza Veado, OutRight's UN Program Officer interviews Gabriel Alves de Faria, a human rights activist and lawyer from Brazil, living in Brussels, Belgium. Together they talk about the constant productivity that comes with being an activist and what it's like stepping back from work and focusing on family life.
OutRight TV: None of Us Are Just One Thing
July 31, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, UN Program Officer Luiza Veado interviews Amanda McRae, Director of UN Advocacy at Women Enabled International. Luiza and Amanda discuss WEI's work at the intersection of disability and gender, the similarities in discrimination during the COVID-19 response, and how organizations can be more intersectional.
OutRight TV: Getting food on the table
July 27, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, OutRight Program Officer Yvonne Wamari interviews Salome Nduta, a human rights defender from Nairobi, Kenya. They discuss the increased vulnerabilities marginalized groups are facing during COVID-19, including getting food on the table.
OutRight TV: Being Trans in Kuwait
July 23, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Arabic Media Coordinator Nazeeha Saeed speaks to Kuwait natives Nour and Yousef, a transgender woman and a transgender man. Staying anonymous due to safety reasons, the two talk to Nazeeha about violence, discrimination, and everyday struggles they face as a result of being trans and unaccepted in society.
Responding to a Crisis. Insights from OutRight's COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund
July 17, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In April 202 OutRight launched the COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund. The Fund supports LGBTIQ organizations on the front lines helping LGBTIQ people who have not only been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures, but also too often excluded from relief efforts due to binary gendered approaches, non-inclusive definitions of “family,” or homophobic or transphobic relief workers.
I Didn't Like Girls
July 17, 2020| Contributed by Cäcille Ealy - OutRight Development Associate
I didn’t like girls. This mindset has, of course, adapted a little since I was 4, but I just liked boys better. Kickball, soccer, video games - those were my JAM. Still are to an extent. And though I may have enjoyed the occasional game of “house,” after 10 minutes of playing "mother," I wanted to get back to my boys. ...Wait, mother?? Growing up, I always knew I was different. Being the product of a Black father and a White mother had an influence on that frame of mind, but to me, it went beyond what my white peers referred to as my “exotic” looks. I am a transwoman. Coming to that conclusion – as you can imagine – was a life-long journey.