Focus Human Rights for LBTIQ+

Strategic Grant for the Ukrainian organisation Insight

Insight is a Ukrainian grassroots organization for the rights of LBTIQ+ women (lesbian, bisexual, trans, inter and queer) with six activist groups in different cities. It is also one of the few organizations in Ukraine doing explicitly feminist human rights work.

“Most LGBT* organizations are male-dominated and we repeatedly experience sexism and misogyny from representatives of these organizations. On countless occasions, we have already emphasized that women’s rights need to be included in the agenda of the LGBT* movement in Ukraine,” says Olena, who is one of the few women* who publicly admits to being a lesbian in Ukraine. In 2014, Insight was one of the initiators of the Women* Relay on the Maidan, which campaigned against sexism and gender-based violence during the revolution. In 2017, Insight organized the human rights campaign “stop hate” to speak out loud about the consequences of exclusion and discrimination.

“Choose your own scenario” is Insight’s slogan. Particularly important for Insight – as for many women’s* organizations – is flexible money that they can use according to their own priorities. For Insight, the Community Center is a big priority: a meeting place where they provide psychological support for those affected by violence, as well as legal and social counselling for LBTQI*. There is also a library at the centre.

Grant for the Ukrainian organization Insha as part of our Campaign #standwithukraine

The organization Insha is active in the city of Kherson in the south of Ukraine. It advocates for the rights of women and LGBTQI+ by creating safe spaces on the one hand and demanding loud and visible equality on the other. The feminist organization has been an important player in Kherson’s civil society since its founding in 2014 and actively collaborates with various groups and organizations working to abolish inequalities.

Due to the Russian occupation of the city of Kherson, Insha’s work on the ground is hardly possible. All but two staff members have left the city and the country and are working from exile. During the four-month occupation of Kherson, Insha helped over 100 people to leave the occupied city. Another 150 people received support to buy medicine, food and pay for other essentials.

Grant for the Organisation Zimbabwe Autonomy Collective

The Zimbabwe Autonomy Collective wants to support LBQ women in their economic emancipation with the project funded by filia. For some time now, the collective has observed a large gap between the economic independence of LBQ women and that of other groups within the LGBTIQ+ community in Zimbabwe. Economic discrimination affects LBQ women in two ways: first, they are discriminated against because of their female gender. And then they are discriminated against as LBQ people when their sexual orientation or gender identity is revealed. The Zimbabwe Autonomy Collective aims to fundamentally remedy this.

The collective seeks to equip LBQ women with economy-building skills. These include learning how to make candles, detergents and perfumes, as well as agricultural skills such as keeping rabbits. The training program also includes courses on marketing, digital and effective, financial literacy, and guidance on how to start and run a successful (small) business. Women participating in the project receive mentoring from successful Zimbabwean women entrepreneurs. The collective also wants to celebrate its tenth anniversary. It is important to them to draw attention to the milestones that the Zimbabwean LBQ movement has already achieved to ensure that this history is not lost.