On Sunday 5 June, up and down the country, people will be celebrating the Queen’s 70th Jubilee and her reign on the throne. While many will be enjoying the monumental event in the UK, it is also an important moment to reflect. Many countries in the Commonwealth still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

The sodomy laws - also often called buggery laws or gross indecency laws - are relics of British colonialism and have in common that they are often broad in latitude, are vaguely worded, and serve to legitimise discrimination and hostility toward LGBTQI people.

To mark the 70th Jubilee, we are raising funds for four LGBTQI organisations working in the Commonwealth to protect our communities and defend LGBTQI rights.

Lady phyll, kaleidoscope trust

“This is why the money and the funding is necessary. I'm trying to make sure people understand that this work cannot be done on fresh air. This work cannot be done just because we speak in it into existence.”

Unlocking funding allows us to do the work that we do, supporting human rights for LGBTQI people, primarily in the Commonwealth.

Much of the work that I have seen my amazing team at Kaleidoscope Trust do, or GiveOut or LBTQ women do, is about strengthening civil society. This is about the voices of those who are on the ground, those human rights defenders speaking truth to power, with us being the bridge to help find ways to do the work, to make the approaches to people who can use their voices in other institutions where we may not historically have sat.

This is about sustainability. Quite often you find that in many LGBTQI organisations, people are working for very little money or no money at all. We need to sustain these organisations so that they can continue to address the inequalities that exist, while also amplifying and celebrating LGBTQI people. And that's really important, as unlocking these resources goes a long way to help the sustainability of organisations.

And this is why the money and the funding is necessary. I'm trying to make sure people understand that this work cannot be done on fresh air. This work cannot be done just because we speak it into existence.

The time for action is now.

Let’s Celebrate: Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant

Look out for some of the entries in the Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant (platinumpageant.com) Let’s Celebrate section. The third act of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, Let’s Celebrate, will harness creativity, ingenuity, humour and community spirit.

South London-based community organisations Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) and Mandinga Arts have come together to create a float for the pageant which celebrates the LGBTQI community and identities. This creative collaboration features technical marvels from Emergency Exit Arts, live music from Rhythms of the City and Mandinga Arts' extraordinary carnival puppets and costumery. The centrepiece is a mighty oak and maypole, whose conjoined ribbons form an image of The Queen.

The Commonwealth Equality Network

Established in 2013, The Commonwealth Equality Network – or TCEN – is a network of organisations challenging inequality based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. The Network was set up to give a global voice to LGBTI+ communities across the Commonwealth and to support joint advocacy to provide an answer to the colonial legacy of homophobia – a Commonwealth solution to a Commonwealth problem.

Much like the Commonwealth itself, the membership of the Network is mostly made up of organisations in low- and middle-income countries. The spread of members – many of them in existence for more than ten years – shows a widespread and longstanding constituency of support for LGBTI+ rights within the Commonwealth, and demonstrates the importance of civil society in leading the way on challenging homophobia and transphobia.

LGBTQI ACTIVISM IN THE COMMONWEALTH

EQUAL GROUND, Sri Lanka

EQUAL GROUND campaign to decriminalise adult consenting, same-sex relations, and achieve equal rights for the LGBTQI community in Sri Lanka.

With the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the government used the health crisis to increasingly monitor activists. In June 2020, the President established a Task Force to create a “virtuous society” and stamp out “anti-social behaviour”, threatening the LGBTQI community.

In November 2020, EQUAL GROUND submitted recommendations to the Constitutional Reform Committee to include SOGIE as a protected characteristic. They also carried out research culminating in the report, ‘Mapping LGBTQI Identities in Sri Lanka’ – the first of its kind in the country – which revealed that 12% of the adult population identify as LGBTQI. In February 2021, they launched the first LGBTQI career site on the island, offering a safe virtual space for job seekers and employers. In 2021, GiveOut’s grant will support EQUAL GROUND’S core costs as they continue decriminalisation efforts in Sri Lanka and achieving equal rights for the community.

Access Chapter 2, South Africa

Access Chapter 2 protect and promote the human rights of LGBTQI people, women and girls in South Africa. They uphold South Africa’s bill of rights, found in Chapter 2 of the country’s Constitution, which guarantees civil, political and socio-economic rights for all.

Access Chapter 2 have been on the frontline of the pandemic response to ensure that LGBTQI people are not forgotten. While South Africa’s Constitution is celebrated across the world, gender- based violence, LGBTQI violence and femicide are endemic. Access Chapter 2 are calling for the government to enact the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, and to undertake gender and sexuality sensitisation campaigns.

Tonga Leitis Association (TLA), Tonga

TLA are Tonga’s only organisation focused on transgender, non-binary and gender non- conforming communities. Leitis are transfeminine and gender non-conforming people traditionally working as domestic servants for the Tongan royal family. However, leitis are often shunned and face incarceration. Tonga criminalises cross-dressing and sodomy, which carry sentences of up to 10 years.

LGBTQI communities will be among the most vulnerable to climate change, but are scared to access emergency shelters that are largely controlled by religious organisations often hostile to them. TLA have been training those running shelters to accommodate LGBTQI people, and are campaigning to include the community in climate change consultations.

J-FLAG, Jamaica

J-FLAG are the foremost human rights and social justice organisation working for LGBTQI people in Jamaica. Established in 1988, they mobilise the LGBTQI community, improve access to services, campaign or legal reform and work to increase public understanding and acceptance of LGBTQI people.

According to J-FLAG, 7 out of 8 LGBTQI people experienced financial, social, mental or emotional impacts due to COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic. In collaboration with WE-Change, TransWave and Equality Youth JA, J-FLAG launched the #GiveOneHelpOne campaign, raising funds and distributing care packages to hundreds of LGBTQI Jamaicans in need.