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Through the LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund GiveOut is working with leading law firms to support organisations using the law and courts to advance equality, including in those places where same-sex relations and trans identities are criminalised.

• 65 jurisdictions criminalise sexual activity between adults of the same sex. The death penalty is a legal possibility in 12 of  these jurisdictions.

• LGBTQI people face legal barriers in coming together to register organisations to support their communities.

• Gender expression and/or identity of trans people is criminalised through ‘crossdressing’,  impersonation and disguise laws in 14 countries. Many more countries authorities use public order, vagrancy and misdemeanour offences to harass, arrest and prosecute trans people.

• 41 countries criminalise same-sex activity between women. Even where women are not specifically criminalised, lesbians and bisexual women are often arrested or threatened with arrest. 

• Trans people are unable to access legal gender recognition or vital medical treatments, while medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex are banned in only a handful of countries. 

• 1012 asylum applications were lodged in the UK in 2020, where sexual orientation formed part of the basis of the claim.

• In many countries, LGBTQI people face violence and discrimination without legal recourse or protections, such as anti-discrimination laws. 

Source: Human Dignity Trust and OutRight Action International

Working with local lawyers and international partners, LGBTQI activists are using the law and courts to:

• Challenge laws criminalising same-sex sexual activity and trans identities

• Advance legal protections against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity

• Challenge degrading and unfair treatment of LGBTQI people

• Uphold freedom of association rights for LGBTQI people to enable them to register organisations

• Protect and promote the rights of LGBTQI asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants

• Advance marriage equality

Grant Partners supported through the Fund

Through GiveOut's LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund, leading law firms are providing funding and pro-bono support to organisations using the law and courts to advance equality.

The Centre for Law and Policy Research, India

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) was established in recognition of the need to have a legal research organisation dedicated to the rule of law and defence of constitutional values in India. CLPR provides free legal representation to trans communities in India, winning important victories, including representing the trans community in the Section 377 proceedings that ended in the landmark Supreme Court decision that decriminalised same sex relations in India. 

Through the LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund, there will be opportunities to provide legal research support on a number of projects at CLPR, including their South Asian Translaw Database. This database supports law and policy engagement efforts by the transgender community, legal professionals, government officials and academics from the South Asian region and beyond.

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Kenya

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) identified the need for a national legal aid response mechanism that would prevent and respond to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. NGLHRC provides this mechanism, promoting and protecting the equality and inclusion of LGBTQI individuals and communities grounded in Kenyan queerness. 

Following a high-profile campaign, led by the Kenyan LGBTQI community including NGLHRC, in May 2019 the High Court of Kenya refused an order to declare colonial-era laws criminalising same-sex conduct between consenting adults as unconstitutional, and as such Kenya remains one of the 29 African countries that continue to criminalise queer lives. The current punitive criminal laws against expressions of same sex intimacy are a major barrier to equality. NGHLRC are continuing to push for legal reform and full equality under the law - and in practice - for LGBTQI people in Kenya.

Pride with Purpose, International

GiveOut’s Pride with Purpose campaign champions businesses that are marking Pride by supporting the movement for LGBTQI human rights worldwide. Law firms and other corporate allies have worked with GiveOut to develop a research report providing recommendations for businesses looking to be better global allies. The report has been prepared to help businesses play a more significant role in supporting the global LGBTQI human rights movement. It sets out research findings on the resource needs of the movement, the case for providing support and emerging legal standards, and best practices and challenges in this regard. The report concludes by proposing a 5-step approach for businesses to follow to further and better support the global LGBTQI movement.