(LONDON) – Today GiveOut launched a new Women’s Fund to support organisations working to advance the human rights of lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer (LBTQ) women around the world.
“Women play a critical role within the global LGBTQI movement by championing both gender and sexuality based human rights,” said GiveOut Trustee Alison McFadyen. “This is an important opportunity for LBTQ women around the world to come together in solidarity.”
Women face particular challenges within the global movement for LGBTQI human rights due to the intersection of their gender and sexuality, especially in countries where the rights of women are limited. As well as this, their organisations receive just 8% of total funding for LGBTQI issues worldwide.
The Women’s Fund will provide support for organisations working to protect the human rights of LBTQ women, with sustainable and flexible funding. It also seeks to foster international solidarity to empower more women to support the global movement for LGBTQI human rights.
The first two organisations to be supported under the fund are UHAI EASHRI, Africa’s first indigenous activist fund, which supports sexual and gender minorities across East Africa; and L’Union Féministe Libre, Morocco’s only registered LGBTQI organisation, which defends women’s rights and combats gender-based violence in the country.
“Numerous forms of violence impede LBTQ women’s full enjoyment of their rights. They endure institutionalised discrimination, systemic violence from both state agents and members of the public, social stigma, and impunity. Nevertheless, they are organising, standing up and demanding that their voices be heard as rights-holders who deserve the same level of protection from violence as anyone else,” said a representative of UHAI EASHRI.
GiveOut is raising funds for UHAI Eashri and L’Union Féministe Libre at City for LGBT+, a live crowdfunding event taking place on 14 October 2020 from 5.30-7.15. To show your support and book your spot, please follow this link: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/w9epagub.
The LBTQWomen network is sponsoring the Women’s Fund at the event. “LBTQWomen were so excited to hear that GiveOut have created a femme focussed Fund and wanted to get involved right from the off. We know the femme LGBTQI community all over the world and in particular in the Global South and East suffer, and often in silence. This is an opportunity to empower and support others in bringing the change they need. We are asking all LBTQWomen to get behind them – as together we can make an impactful difference,” said Pippa Dale, a founding Ambassador for LGTQWomen.org.
More information about the Women’s Fund can be found here.