The International Trans Fund (ITF) is the only trans-led, global funder focused on safety, dignity and justice for trans people. We work to mobilize and facilitate sustainable resources for strong, trans-led movements and collective action, and to address and eliminate funding gaps impacting trans groups across the globe. We envision a future where gender diversity is celebrated, and where trans people have the power to live as their true, authentic selves in communities across the globe. Our grantmaking is led by a global panel of trans activists: we believe it is essential for trans activists who understand the context in different regions to make the decisions about what trans communities need to make progress.
The 7th Grant Making Panel (GMP) meeting took place in Bangkok from June 26-30, 2023, and the GMP allocated $990,000 to 39 trans-led groups in 35 countries in the general grant cycle and $450,000/3 years to 7 organizations in 7 countries for the Legal Gender Recognition Project in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Africa and West Asia
Trans Dynamics (Morocco)
Trans Dynamics was formed in 2018 in Rabat, Morocco. They are an unregistered, independent, non-hierarchical, not-for-profit organization that was created to mobilize transgender, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming people in Morocco in leading their own struggle against all forms of violence and structural oppression based on gender identity and gender expression. Their main activities are: (a) Research and human rights advocacy, including using the report and the recommendations received by Morocco at the Universal Periodic Review as an entry point to meet relevant stakeholders to urge them to take a stance on the issue of trans rights in Morocco. They will also conduct joint advocacy activities with allies, such as contributing to the annual report of the Civil Council for the Fight Against All Forms of Discrimination and work with Generations G to advocate specifically around issues related to decriminalization, as national conversations about penal code reform are ongoing; (b) Develop a comprehensive glossary written in inclusive Darija, that will be in accessible language and provide definitions for gender identity concepts and terms, including decolonized non-Western identity terms employed by Moroccan gender diverse people to describe themselves; (c) Continue trans holistic wellness and community building by running community activities and trans health space services; (d) Alliance building and networking within the Moroccan queer movement, including delivering workshops aimed at educating allies within the Moroccan civil society coalitions, and (e) Promote internal organizational growth and reinforcement which includes continuing to hold a two-day retreat with team members and volunteers which consists of team bonding activities, planning sessions, capacity building and/or political education workshops and work sessions to collectively reflect and develop internal structures.
Transgender and Intersex Africa (TIA) (South Africa)
Transgender and Intersex Africa (TIA) was formed in 2010 in South Africa. TIA seeks to break the silence and stop the ignorance surrounding the existence of Black transgender and intersex communities in South Africa. They aim to reduce intolerance and discrimination against transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals in Black communities, and to promote acknowledgment of indigenous African knowledge of transgender and intersex identities and realities. Their main activities are: (a) Conduct community outreach activities that provide support to trans and intersex people in rural areas and townships, raise awareness on trans issues and gather data on emerging needs and themes from the community; (b) Design information and learning materials aimed and various stakeholders such as healthcare workers and teachers; (c) Host the trans monthly support group that provides a space for trans people to receive psychosocial support and community care; (d) Host TDOR event as an opportunity for constituents from different provinces to come together and commemorate the day, (e) Campaign on advocating for full trans inclusion in SRHR and HIV spaces; and (f) Strengthen relationship with Department of Education to see how they can institutionalize trans issues within schools at provincial level, and continue to work with the Department of Health to increase and strengthen gender affirming healthcare for trans and intersex people.
Botswana Trans Initiative (Botswana)
Botswana Trans Initiative was formed in 2021 in Gaborone, Botswana. They advocate for an inclusive review of policies and laws that disenfranchise the diverse lived experiences of transgender and gender diverse persons. Their mission is to serve, empower the representation and visibility of transgender people, and advance advocacy for the review of laws and policies for the fulfilment of the human rights of transgender and gender diverse people in Botswana. Their main activities are: (a) Conduct stakeholder engagements and dialogues with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Gender, National Registration of Birth and Death, Human Rights Institutions and trans and gender diverse community in Botswana; (b) Hold Trans Camp and invite the trans and gender diverse community to share ideas and employable life skills; (c) Hold a Health expo and invite healthcare service providers and civil society organizations to showcase and share the work they do and have conversations that speak to trans and gender diverse healthcare; and (d) Conduct a trans and gender diverse community needs assessment and develop a research documentation booklet that will show challenges and issues that transgender and gender diverse persons face on a daily basis.
Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute (Egypt)
Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute was formed in 2020 in Egypt. They are a research institute that aims to restore the balance to the scale of justice by reproducing simplified legal materials and connecting those materials to the concept of basic human rights, as stated in national and international laws and as it is protected in the Egyptian Constitution. Their mission is to re-disseminate legal knowledge in a simple way, spreading the principles of human rights and freedom of the body, providing legal services for the marginalized, and creating a platform to raise the voices of the voiceless. Their main activities are: (a) Provide Legal Aid Services; (b) Raising awareness through alternative media, training, and workshops; (c) Conduct legal research on issues affecting sexual and bodily freedoms, e.g., legal gender recognition and sex work; (d) Create a digital legal archive to help legal advocates working on defending individuals reach legal knowledge; (e) Engage in knowledge production via issuing articles addressing sexual and bodily freedoms for an intersectional perspective between international human rights laws and national law; (f) Engage in international advocacy by collecting data to submit three Universal Periodic Reviews with international partners in Egypt’s next cycle in 2024; one on trans rights, one on sex work, and one on general LGBTQ+ rights; (g) Build alliances with international and regional partners to assist with advocacy work; and (h) Create a database of transgender policy in Islamic countries: this database will be the first of its kind, and it will have Fatwas (Islamic rulings), case law, national laws, and policies from most countries in the Islamic world, including Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Malaysia, and Turkey.
Matasia Trans Capability (Kenya)
Matasia Trans Capability was formed in 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. They aim to develop the transgender community by promoting visibility, economic empowerment and capacity building. Their mission is to build a community where transgender people have full equality in all facets of life. Their main activities: (a) Develop sustainable livelihood activities, such as poultry farming to develop business acumen, skills, management and financial access; (b) Deliver mental health and psycho-social trans support sessions every month facilitated by a trained trans personnel at the safe house; (c) Support capacity team building by training 6 staff members and 9 other TGNC leaders in leadership, financial management, security and advocacy; (d) Support the maintenance of the Safe House where they engage in clerical duties, engage the community and create a safe space; (e) Provide emergency medical support for the whole year to create a bridge for TGNC to access medical care in a safer and stress free manner; and (f) Provision of food relief to trans community on a monthly basis. There are high levels of food insecurity and this intervention aims at providing food items to TGNC refugees and asylum seekers who cannot feed themselves.
Positive Vision (Cameroon)
Positive Vision was formed in 2015 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Their mission is to respond to the most pressing needs related to social change, gender equality and respect for the human rights of transgender people in Cameroon, including sexual and reproductive health and mental health, in order to generate effective leadership of trans people and to promote gender equality in a vibrant, proud and discrimination-free community. Their main activities are: (a) Delivering educational talks on sexual health and legal cafés/round tables; (b) Hosting voluntary screening campaigns; (c) Delivering diverse training workshops for media agents, healthcare personnel and law enforcement; (d) Deliver national training workshop on gender based violence collection tools and setting up of documentation tools; (e) Host support groups; (f) Finalize the five-year Positive Vision plan; (g) Host Trans* visibility month (15 days of Trans* activism); and (h) Develop a communication plan for trans people.
Transgender Somalia (TransSom) (Somalia)
Transgender Somalia (TransSom) was formed in 2017 in Garowe, Puntland, Somalia. They are the first and only transgender movement dedicated to representing the trans community in Somalia. TransSom has more than 300 trans members and continuously works to mobilize, connect and empower the trans community in order to build strong trans movement which results in the social inclusivity, recognition of rights, and legal protection of the transgender people in Somalia. The main activities are: (a) Reach out and mobilize an additional 500 trans members throughout Somalia to join TransSom; (b) Continue and expand the online community platform where the trans community can connect, communicate and discuss and address the most pressing issues in solidarity and collectively in this time of social distancing and beyond; (c) Increase member engagement, cohesion and movement growth by bringing together members for live meetings and monthly online community discussions through the online platform to build their collective power for seeking their rights and recognition in Somalia; and (d) Reach out the trans-friendly organizations and stakeholders to build new partnerships and trans-friendly actors in Somalia.
Anonymous (Africa)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Anonymous (Africa)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
East, South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Resilient (Bangladesh)
Resilient was formed in 2017 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They aim to build an enabling environment where Bangladeshi transgender men can enjoy their rights. Their mission is to ensure the rights of transgender men in every sphere of life through empowerment. Their main activities are: (a) Conduct annual planning meeting for developing strategy for the next year; (b) Develop career opportunities among transgender men through skills development training; (c) Advocate for legal gender recognition of transgender community; (d) Engage in policy development; (e) Continue organizing monthly online and offline hangouts with transgender men across the country; (f) Provide financial support for mental health counselling; (g) Facilitate a meeting with healthcare professionals and advocate for gender reassignment treatment and develop a clear pathway with guidelines; (h) Continue ongoing Emergency Fund (for initial transition treatment support, binders, emergency livelihood support to victims); (i) Build network with rural trans men; (j) Deliver self-defence training; (k) Create jobs for trans men community; (l) Organize family counselling; (m) Arrange seminar in Public University to desensitize transgender issues; and (n) Develop advocacy materials to raise awareness on discrimination against transgender community.
Kolkata Rista (India)
Kolkata Rista was formed in 2004 in Kolkata, India. They are a trans-led community-based organization that works with working class trans people. Their mission is to teach the marginalized transgender community with the aim of empowering it and generating social inclusion, especially by raising awareness of the importance of health to have a better quality of life. Their main activities are: (a) Deliver training on fundamental rights and citizenship; (b) Host quarterly sensitization meeting with healthcare providers; (c) Host two sensitization meetings with police and legal aid personnel; (d) Host two meetings with parents of transgender people; (e) Deliver training on mental health; (f) Host quarterly sensitization meeting with transgender youths regarding gender based violence, self acceptance, access to public spaces and shelter, gender identity and employment; and (g) Disseminate outcome of the project with community and other stakeholders.
National Transgender Network Trust of Sri Lanka (NTN) (Sri Lanka)
National Transgender Network Trust of Sri Lanka (NTN) was formed in 2018 in Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. NTN provides a safe, secure and dignified life for all transgender persons in Sri Lanka. Their mission is to improve all aspects of a trans person’s life in Sri Lanka by providing socio-economic, legal, medical and emotional support. Their main activities are: (a) Organize consultation programs and complete drafting Transgender Protection Bill; (b) Present the Transgender Protection Bill to the Parliament for debate and passing; (c) Document human rights violation cases experienced by the LGBTIQ community; (d) Organize themed events for the LGBTIQ community as safe spaces for them to learn and network; (e) Maintain hotline to support trans persons seeking guidance in their transition process; (f) Advance rights of trans and gender-diverse workers in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the National Union for Transgenders; (g) Support transgender women (Key Population) to access knowledge related to HIV and STD as well as condoms, lubricating gel and testing services; and (h) Maintain social media presence to provide information for the trans and gender-diverse community.
Ruby Social Enterprise (Vietnam)
Ruby Social Enterprise was formed in 2009 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Their mission is to create and strengthen alliances with the transgender community, advocate for reduced discrimination, and support the key population community to have better access to healthcare. Their main activities are: (a) Design and initiate TransEdu – the first trans awareness movement in Vietnam, which will provide a central platform for trans awareness-raising, youth/community outreach, policy advocacy, and related activities, and will engage with and bring positive impact to trans youth, trans students, marginalized trans groups, such as trans sex workers, and other stakeholders, e.g. teachers and academic boards; (b) Design and deliver the Vietnamese Transgender Forum through which networks of trans individuals across Vietnam can gather and discuss relevant issues; (c) Reach and link trans individuals to trans-competent health services; (d) Provide job connections and free health checks for trans sex workers, unemployed trans and other marginalized trans groups; (e) develop communication materials on harm reduction and hormone use; and (f) participate in trans law advocacy in Vietnam.
Transgender Japan (TGJP) (Japan)
Transgender Japan was formed in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They aim to to build ultimate justice for gender equality. Their mission is to create a comfortable and supportive environment for all trans people in Japan. Their main activities are: (a) Host the 3rd Annual Tokyo Trans March; (b) Host the Trans Congress to demand lawmakers to legislate in favour of trans people; (c) Hold Travelling Trans March Series to build the local trans community by initiating Mini Trans March, typically affiliating with pride events throughout the country; (d) Have a Hotline for trans people, especially focusing on suicide prevention; (e) Engage in media monitoring and releasing official comment on trans-related issues; (f) Initiating anti-discrimination marches, especially the one on Transgender Day of Visibility; (g) Hosting Trans Film Night, featuring trans themed films. These will be open to public to promote awareness; (h) Hosting Trans Talk Show, featuring trans celebrity. Also open to public; (i) Publishing the 2nd edition of the annual zine, TRANS RiGHTS; and (j) Conducting a survey focusing on medical issue of trans people.
Anonymous (Southeast Asia)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Anonymous (East Asia)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Anonymous (East Asia)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
TransFormA (Macedonia)
TransFormA – Initiative for Support and Promotion of the Rights of Transgender People was formed in 2011 in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. They are the first and only community based trans-focused initiative in North Macedonia. Their mission addresses the key issues faced by the trans community: invisibility, violence, discrimination, lack of legal gender recognition and lack of regulation of medical procedures. Their main activities are: (a) Increase trans visibility and mobilize the community; (b) Map future professionals for providing psychological aid and create a safe registry of psychologists; (c) Train and sensitize psychologists and psychology students for working with the trans community; (d) Advocate for the advancement of the rights of trans people before the bodies of the UN, CEDAW and EU; (e) Organize work meeting between TransFormA and representatives from women CSOs; and (f) Provide legal aid.
Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO (Armenia)
Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO was formed in 2016 in Yerevan, Armenia. They are a community-based and community-led human rights defender NGO. Their mission is to create lasting solutions for promoting the quality of dignified lives of transgender people and sex workers to prevent violations of human rights and to overcome difficulties. Their main activities are: (a) Plan and implement Trans Pride on Day of Trans Visibility; (b) Host a 3-day Trans Pride Conference with guests from 6 countries of the region, representatives of ministries and decision makers from the educational, health and justice sectors, embassy representatives, representatives of human rights organizations and trans community members from up to 8 regions in Armenia; (c) Host four trans camps to continue educating and empowering trans people in Armenia around their human rights; (d) Publish two social videos to increase awareness of trans women’s issues; (e) Implement a legal research documenting legal gaps, particularly with regards to legal gender recognition, anti-discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes; (f) Implement staff capacity building around advocacy and communications; (g) Implement at least four round-table meetings to raise issues of importance for the trans community in Armenia with key decision makers; and (h) Conduct at least 30 community events aimed at mobilizing the trans community to build solidarity among one another and other marginalized groups from the LGBQI+ community in Armenia.
Fundacja Lambda Polska (Lambda Poland Foundation) (Poland)
Fundacja Lambda Polska (Lambda Poland Foundation) was formed in 2018 in Szczecin, Poland. They believe that every human being has right to safety, respect, acceptance, self-determination, equality, and support wherever they are not as privileged as the others and their tool is radical empathy. Their main activities are: (a) Keeping up the safe space, support groups and individual consulting; (b) Covering costs necessary to start hormone therapies and legal transition; (c) Organize Polish Transgender Day of Visibility / Polish Trans Pride; (d) Create 2nd all-Poland anti-discrimination outdoor / public transport campaign (1st is already funded and being created, will go public in 1st half of 2023); (e) Create 2nd full length documentary movie about transgender people’s life in Poland; (f) Organize summer camp for trans kids; (g) Organize massive protests in Warsaw in case of opposition winning the elections but not keeping their promise to make transition bill quickly; and (h) Start first ever transgender magazine in Poland.
Global Foundation for the Protection of Trans Rights (Armenia)
Global Foundation for the Protection of Trans Rights was formed in 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. Their mission is to secure resources for education, advocacy and wellbeing for trans communities of post-Soviet countries. The foundation’s objectives are to empower the trans community through awareness raising and non-formal education opportunities, to prepare the trans community for dialogue and advocacy with state institutions in order to advance legal changes for trans human rights, and to partake in experience sharing with international experts, local activists and grassroots organizers from all regions the foundation works in. Their main activities are: (a) Build the capacity of staff by providing salaries for full-time work, which will allow staff to work on fundraising, collaboration opportunities with other NGOs in the region, learning opportunities through attendance of trainings, seminars, workshops and round-tables in Armenia and the region; (b) Mobilize the trans community in Armenia through rental of temporary spaces and providing snacks, coffee/tea for beneficiaries in order to create a safe space for discussion, experience exchange and trust building; (c) Implement a 5-day staff and volunteer retreat to develop strategy for the upcoming 3 years and set goals for 2023 and 2024; and (d) Continue collaborating with Right Side NGO and Equality of Opportunity to participate in advocacy activities for trans and LGBQI+ issues and disability rights.
Anonymous (Eastern Europe)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Anonymous (Eastern Europe)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Anonymous (Central Asia)
Due to safety and security concerns, this group has requested that their name and work not be published.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Archivo de la Memoria Trans (Argentina)
Archivo de la Memoria Trans was formed in 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They create a cooperative space in which photographers, journalists, historians, curators and art critics, editors, curators, researchers and teachers complicate and create new projects from different languages. Their mission is to gather and rescue a documentary heritage on the life history of the Argentinean trans community. Their main activities are: (a) Conduct federal training; (b) Publish three books; (c) Disclosure and public opening in 2023 through the ATOM system of all documentary collections; (d) Organize artistic exhibitions and talks; (e) Organize the International Day of Trans Remembrance in Argentina; (e) Incorporate more trans colleagues to the work team; (f) Work in coordination with institutions, artists, and the government; (g) Research in national and provincial archives; and (h) Joint effort with prosecutors to provide evidence for new cases of reparation.
Butterfly Trans Barbados (Barbados)
Butterfly Trans Barbados was formed in 2017 in Bridgetown, Barbados. They strive to be the change in Barbados needed for comprehensive access in all regards and complete integration of transgender and non-binary individuals throughout all areas of society. They work to ensure transgender and non-binary individuals have gender identity recognition, social inclusivity with legislative and policy reform. Their main activities are: (a) Conduct a series of community-based workshops on how to engage online strategically, messages, infographics, videos etc.; (b) Plan to host and facilitate a regional transgender training targeted towards healthcare providers to become up to date with international standards; (c) Deliver job preparation workshops for the trans community; (d) Use the space to provide general and mental healthcare to the community; and (e) provide temporary emergency shelter.
Fundación Féminas Latinas (Chile)
Fundación Féminas Latinas was formed in 2015 in Santiago and Antofagasta, Chile. They contribute to the transfeminine migrant and refugee community in Chile accessing and enjoying their human and constitutional rights, for inclusion, equality, and equity towards full citizenship. Their mission is to promote the participation of the transfeminine community in Chile, in the defense, guarantee, surveillance and oversight of rights, for the advocacy of public and government policies. Their main activities are: (a) Continue the Migrant Transfeminist Organizing School with the aim of reaching more trans comrades to enable the development and practice of new leadership and strengthening the migrant transfeminist movement in Chile; (b) Hold listening and information workshops about the various lines of work (immigration regularization, sexual and reproductive rights, gender violence, political education and advocacy, transfeminist self-care); (c) Engage in local, national and regional political advocacy with the continued aim of building and improving public policies for the community; (d) Accompaniment in cases of violation of rights to protect, demand and guarantee the human rights and safety of the community; and (e) Continue networking, strengthening collaboration strategies with other aligned social organizations to bring visibility the problems and demands of the transmigrant community in Chile.
Hombres Trans Panamá (Panama)
Hombres Trans Panamá was formed in 2016 in Panama. They want to exist in a Panama that is inclusive of trans people in all areas, that enforces policies with gender perspective, where human rights are respected and the organization is politically, socially and financially sustainable. Their main activities are: (a) Deliver workshops on binder and care and packer and hygiene; (b) Support with name changes; (c) Hold support groups; (d) Deliver mental health program (with allied psychologists); (e) Facilitate Trans Solidarity Network and provide emergency support; (f) Deliver leadership workshops; (g) Conduct seminar workshop for access to employment; (h) Provide English language scholarships; (i) Engage in draft identity law work in conjunction with the Trans Assembly.
Colectivo MOR (Colombia)
Colectivo MOR was formed in Cali, Colombia. They aim to consolidate as a community of support that promotes safe spaces and exchange at the regional and national level, for the protection of the identities and rights of transmasculine and non-binary persons. Their mission is to create safe spaces for transmasculine and non-binary persons, through accompaniment, and socialization of tools for access and protection of rights in health, job access, education, etc. Through this funding, they plan to implement “Al ritmo del cuidado trans” (“To the Rhythm of Trans Care”), a project that aims to build knowledge and provide tools for trans people, building strengths around advocating for the rights to one’s own body, the right to pleasure, and the right to care and self-care of trans people (binary and non-binary), through a series of workshops designed to strengthen their knowledge and skills around defending rights, exploring feelings and emotions of trans people about their right to their own bodies and to pleasure through dance and self-determination and well-being. These workshops will be led/facilitated by trans persons, where the work methodology consists of meetings for socializing, strengthening, reflection and practical exercises. There will be a closing with a cultural/social event for the participants.
Comando Trans Interseccional (Mexico)
Comando Trans Interseccional was formed in 2020 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Their mission is to contribute to improving access to information, individual and collective development of trans people in the state of Yucatan through interculturality, community and the culture of peace. Their main activities are: (a) Provide training for the group in strategic issues such as: interculturality, Mayan language, participatory methodology, design of documentaries for activism and a culture of peace with a gender and intercultural perspective; (b) Generate and produce information and dissemination material for the group’s workshops and activities; (c) Organize artistic and cultural activities with Mayan communities; (d) Delivery of STI prevention supplies and HIV screening; (e) Delivery of food pantry items to low-income trans people; (f) Monthly working visits in the working communities proposed in the project; (g) Create safe spaces in communities that allow the exchange of experiences, knowledge and wisdom with Mayan trans people; (h) Provide training for trans groups from Mayan communities where issues of human rights, sexual health, self-care, depression and violence prevention will be addressed; (i) Registry of information on trans-femicides, hate crimes against trans men and suicide due to gender violence against Mayan trans people; and (j) Audiovisual recording and editing of the process of creating safe spaces for trans people and collective work.
Diversidades Trans Masculinas (Peru)
Diversidades Trans Masculinas was formed in Lima, Peru. They create tools so that transmasculine and non-binary persons can mitigate the effect of transphobia in their lives and communally build a better future. Their mission is to provide direct support for transmasculine and nonbinary persons AFAB in the form of psychological accompaniment, medical attention and work initiatives from transfeminism and political-social advocacy. Their main activities are: (a) Plan actions and activities for commemorative days (TDOR, World Mental Health Day, etc.); (b) Consolidate the Trans Community House for mental health and healing; (c) Deliver the Trans Work Exchange Project; (d) Engage in visibility raising events; and (e) Support and search for justice in the case of the murder of their founder, along with their family and community.
Fundación Dignidad Trans (Colombia)
Fundación Dignidad Trans was formed in 2019 in Arauca, Colombia. Their mission is to promote and guarantee the protection and fulfillment of Human Rights for trans migrants, refugees and local population in the department of Arauca creating opportunities for their social and economic inclusion. Their main activities are: (a) Continue sessions of Cinema in the Park (Cine Foro Al Parque) with the flip book stories (audiovisual); (b) Provide non-formal education through short courses to 15 trans women sex workers and initial seed capital to their projects; (c) Continue increasing the visibility of their mission so that the UNP (National Protection Unit), Police, and Public Advocate/Ombudsperson’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) can ensure their safety when carrying out the activities planned to consolidate the work in Arauca.
Sembrando Resistencias (Puerto Rico)
Sembrando Resistencias was formed in 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They are a transfeminist ecosystem inhabited by trans, non-binary, queer single parent, sex workers, immigrants, indigenous, Brown and Black TNBCILBPA+. Their main activities are: (a) Continue creating a safe urban farm space (AmaraSiembra) for trans and non binary folks that provides agricultural and ancestral farming knowledge as well as a healing space; (b) Continue creating safe and just paid opportunities for trans and non binary people within a transfeminist working culture; (c) Coordinate Cosechándonxs a farming laboratory for trans and non binary people to learn agroecological and exchange ancestral practices by actively participating in working the land and in the decision making; (d) Increase the crop production on AmaraSiembra to provide ecological food-medicine baskets twice a month for 10 trans, non binary, Brown and Black TNBQILBPA+ and single queer parents in the San Juan area; (e) Continue working on self sustainability practices that included a sustainable permanent chicken coop, sprouting (microgreens) and solar dehydrating stations; (f) Organize a gathering for trans, non binary, queer and Brown and Black TNBQILBPA+ agroecological farmers in Puerto Rico; (g) Develop Ecosystem Storytelling an initiative of content creation created by rescuing ancestral Caribbean memories of how their communities use plants; (h) Compose PlantMusic by recording the vibrational frequencies emitted by ecologically grown plants for sound therapy; (i) Create a herbal library area focused on transfeminism, agroecological practices, natural medicine books and botanical herbs that communities can use; (j) Continue organizing the Bakeo Trans-Colectivx with Ahí viene la e and continue coordinating Descanso Dates and other healing justice events; (k) Continue organizing gatherings with the trans, non-binary and questioning adolescents who attended Encontrándonos: Adolescencia Trans, No Binarie y Cuestionándose; (l) Support the creation of a trans, non binary, queer agroecological network so that those who collaborated in AmaraSiembra can start their own projects, become self-employed, and weave more collective agroecological spaces led and based by their communities; and (m) Continue expanding inclusivity as well as disability, language and healing justice practices within the organization.
Almas Cautivas (México)
Almas Cautivas A.C. was formed in 2013, envisioning an inclusive justice system that respects the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty. Their mission involves training, advocacy, economic empowerment and health care programs within prison systems to ensure that they respect the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty, and where sexual orientation and gender identity are not reasons for violence and discrimination. Their main activities include direct support, legal resources, capacity building for work and economic empowerment, as well as political advocacy to accomplish the respect to the human rights of trans people deprived of their liberty, and trans people in liberty. For the LGR in LAC Project, Almas Cautivas proposes outreach and work activities to support and follow-up with trans people’s needs in terms of gender identity recognition, including various official documents and navigation of institutional spaces. Along with these activities, the group is going to engage in advocacy for LGR in various Mexican states and develop a report with the results of this project.
Asociación Silueta X (Ecuador)
Asociación Silueta X was formed in 2006 and has been formally registered since 2010. Their mission as a non-profit organization is related to the struggle for the rights in health, education, employment and justice of the trans population of Ecuador. The group has been active in the LGR advocacy in Ecuador, being part of the ‘Plataforma Nacional Trans’ that achieved LGR advancements in 2015 and 2022. Despite these positive results, there are many limits to the access to LGR rights in the country, including economic barriers for trans people to change their documents. Asociación Silueta X proposes to provide direct support for trans people who have no resources to access LGR in their contexts of work, besides their continuing (and diverse) advocacy efforts to approve the LGR law (which is now being enforced under a ‘mandato constitucional’) and promote cultural changes regarding this right.
Asociación Generación de Hombres Trans de El Salvador (El Salvador)
Asociación Generación de Hombres Trans de El Salvador was founded in 2014. Their mission is to drive processes of organizing and of advocacy for the defense of the human rights of the LGTBI community, focusing principally on trans men, in order to gain favorable conditions for respect, compliance, and recognition of their human rights at the national, regional, and global levels. They are also engaged in ‘integral’ healthcare – ‘salud integral’ – for their community, particularly in mental health support and physical health, they recently inaugurated a gym with a trainer working to support their public. The group is currently facing a very difficult political context, in which the national government is a threat to the human rights of trans people. For instance, the current government has stalled individual LGR cases that were in courts, but advocacy for a Gender Identity Law continues, as 2024 brings elections for various levels in El Salvador – presidential, assembly, and mayors. Asociación Generación Hombres Trans El Salvador is engaged both regionally (as part of REDCAHT+) and nationally with various institutional spaces in order to defend and promote LGR, health, and overall trans rights in their work.
TransWave Jamaica (Jamaica)
TransWave Jamaica was formed in 2015. Their mission is to promote change which results in the social inclusivity, recognition of rights, and legal protection of the transgender and gender non-conforming community. With no gender identity recognition laws in Jamaica, the group faces a context in which trans people are restricted in their living conditions – from access to the banking system and healthcare facilities, to obstacles in scholarship and job applications -, with clear impacts on their social vulnerabilities. With notable experience in advocacy and research, the group intends to further develop their strategies to promote trans communities rights to healthcare and LGR in legislative spheres – through the National Gender Identity and Recognition Legislative Framework, for instance. For the LGR in LAC Project, they are planning to convene a human rights conference, promote strategic training opportunities for trans people in advocacy and legal literacy, and conduct research on migration-related issues to trans/gnc people in Jamaica and their diaspora.
Fundación GAAT (Colombia)
Fundación GAAT – Grupo de Acción y Apoyo a personas Trans was formed in 2008. GAAT is a community organization with a community base that defends, promotes and disseminates the rights and full citizenship of trans people, their families and networks of support, and works on political advocacy, as well as social and cultural transformation. Colombia, as a context with an internal armed conflict that has lasted more than 50 years, is also presenting a moment of legislative reform that is regarded as an opportunity for advocacy for the rights of trans and non-binary people. Fundación GAAT is part of different coalitions that are engaging in these advocacy efforts, including work as part of the ‘Plataforma Ley Integral Trans Ya!’. The organization, as part of their work related to the LGR in LAC Project, also plans to work on research and direct support activities to support the movement’s LGR strategies in Colombia, besides their ongoing work in communication and community building initiatives.
UCTRANS (Regional)
UCTRANS was formed in 2018. Their mission is to build the capacity of trans organizations and those working with trans people regionally, while providing technical support to advance Human Rights, adequate protection of the law, promotion of sexual and reproductive health and general well-being. Their main activities are to: (a) Denounce all forms of discrimination and negative cultural attitudes towards gender identity, (b) Establish strategic alliances with government, NGOs, institutions and other stakeholders interested in processes to advance the Network, (c) Provide oversight to the creation and modification of Gender Identity and Human Rights sensitization and education strategies directed at Trans people and the general public, (d) Advance research around trans identities, (e) Promote integration, inclusion and increased representation of trans persons in decision-making processes at the national, regional and international levels, (f) Advocate for the access to quality and comprehensive healthcare, and (g) Make visible the functions of the network in society.
Hombres Trans Panamá (Panamá)
Hombres Trans Panamá was formed in 2016. Their mission is based on their desire to live in a Panamá that is inclusive of trans people in all areas, that implements policies with a gender perspective, where human rights are respected and the organization is politically, socially, and financially sustainable. Their goals are related to the recognition of gender identity by public institutions of Panamá; to the promotion of protocols and public policies with a human rights perspective; to the building of community resilience; and to training of the population with tools to access the labor market. As part of their proposal for the LGR in LAC Project, they have shared strategies to advocate for a Gender Identity Law in Panamá, along with activities for direct support to trans communities to access their individual LGR, obtain employment, and access health services.
USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada
Casa Kuà / V.I.E. (Germany)
Casa Kuà / V.I.E. was formed in 2020 in Berlin, Germany. They seek to improve the health- and therefore lives- of the most marginalized trans*, abinary and inter people by focussing on BIPoC, migrants, and refugees, as well as poor trans* folks, abinary, and inter folks. They work from their own social positioning, and have a holistic, decolonial and intersectional approach to health, because they understand that ill health is often caused or exacerbated by social inequalities and discrimination. Their main activities are: (a) Provide psychological and medical counselling (and offer them for free or on a donation-basis); (b) Offer different alternative treatments (such as acupuncture, phytotherapy) based on donations; (c) Continue fostering peer-to-peer support groups focussed on intersectional issues; (d) Host and coordinate two knowledge-sharing workshops per month throughout the year to help cope with minority stress, discrimination and violence, to strengthen self-esteem, gender and sexual self-determination, as well as resilience and autonomy of all trans*, abinary and inter people; (e) Provide crisis intervention in form of counselling, workshops, coordination of peer-to-peer support; (f) Building improvement of the local space to make it more accessible; (g) Organize opening hours for the queer feminist community library (which has been growing through book donations in the space since more than a year); (h) Curation of community exhibitions in the local space; and (i) Launch new group by and for trans & inter people with experience in the psychiatric system.
Man.ish Cave (Netherlands)
Man.ish Cave was formed in 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. They are a peer support and empowerment organization for Black, and people of colour transmasculine/non-binary community and allies including persons with a refugee (documented or un-documented)/immigration background). They aim to address issues intersecting with gender freedom, race, feminism, mental, physical and sexual health and issues that may arise when navigating the Dutch legal systems. Their main activities are: (a) Host 10 activities (such as Chill Spots, which are socialising events); (b) Host support groups and health and fitness events) in collaboration with local community members; (c) Host two short team-building retreats for the active members of the Man.ish Cave team and one longer retreat for team members focused on planning, team-building, and strategy; and (d) Hold an Anniversary Party in November to mark the five year anniversary as an organization.
Rainbow Path Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Rainbow Path Aotearoa was formed in 2019 in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Rainbow Path is led by trans and other rainbow people with lived experience as asylum seekers and refugees, provides peer support and leads advocacy on human rights and increases allies’ awareness of the issues they face and builds support for changes to laws, policies and practices nationally, regionally and internationally. Their main activities are: (a) Engage in advocacy, legal and policy change and work intersectionality with LGBTQIA+, refugee, migrant and disability activists to create campaign resources and write submissions to improve current processes that discriminate against trans asylum seekers and refugees including family reunification and partnership policies and by maintaining pressure on the NZ government to introduce a legal gender recognition process for people born overseas; (b) Continue to work with other LGBTQI+ refugee-led groups regionally and internationally to improve UNHCR processes and create pathways for resettlement; (c) Engage in awareness raising by maintaining a high profile in rainbow, refugee, migrant and ethnic community spaces, including government and research consultations to ensure the needs of trans asylum seekers and refugees are visible and addressed; (d) Continue trans-competency training for service providers and expand training to give refugee and rainbow sector organisations more advanced skills in supporting asylum seekers and refugees to access gender-affirming healthcare and change documentation where this is possible; (e) Seek separate funding to create a volunteer coordinator role; (e) Engage in community building via monthly social meetings; and (f) Hold second Rainbow Path strategic planning retreat to celebrate achievements, identify new goals and support new refugees into leadership roles including on the Steering Committee.
GenderLens APS (Italy)
GenderLens APS was formed in 2020 in Modena, Italy. They are the leading association in Italy founded to give visibility to younger trans people, to value their existence, and, above all, to promote the dissemination of an affirmative and depathologizing way of accompaniment of young trans people, regardless of their age. Their main activities are: (a) Participation in Stati Genderali, an intersectional advocacy platform designed by the Italian LGBTQIA+ community; (b) Organize events to raise awareness on the issue of trans childhood and adolescence; (c) Host online support groups for families (2 times a month); (d) Deliver single issue events with experts on the health of trans people, legal instruments for the protection of trans people, resources so families can optimize their children’s school experience; (e) Deliver training for health professionals, educational institutions, and the media on transgender children and teenagers; (f) Write a guide on trans identities for schools and families; (g) Write an ethnographic comic (graphic novel) about younger trans people’s life experience; (h) Deliver free weekly English courses for transgender children and teenagers; (i) Deliver free weekly reading workshops for children 0-12; (j) Organize a weekend between families in September 2023; (k) Provide window reception and support service for young trans people and their families (Turin, Rome, and Bologna); (l) Participate in assemblies and councils of the main international associations (TGEU; ILGA; IGLYO); (m) Activity to promote the rights of trans children for political institutions of the country, particularly in the Ministry of Education for the application of protocols for trans students and trans school staff; and (n) Collaboration with the Turin Pride Committee.
Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia – TAP VA (USA)
Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia – TAP VA was formed in 2015 in Virginia Beach, USA. They are an all volunteer, trans led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to end homelessness within the transgender community in Virginia and provide educational opportunities around the important fact that trans rights are human rights by explaining the intersectionality between homelessness, discrimination, socio-economic status and racism within the community. They offer safe emergency and temporary transitional housing to homeless transgender adults in their community, and to help them find the additional resources they need to remove the barriers to self-sufficiency. Their program is run by the transgender community for the transgender community. Their main activities are: (a) Supporting client transporation costs; (b) Participating in community and visibility events (e.g. Pride, Transgender Information and Empowerment Summit, etc.; and (c) Support the daily organizational costs.
Trans Limerick Community (TLC) (Ireland)
Trans Limerick Community (TLC) was formed in 2021 in Limerick, Ireland. They aim to empower the trans and gender diverse community of the greater Limerick region, raising awareness, changing lives and forging bonds that will last a lifetime. Their mission is to create a home for trans and gender diverse individuals in the greater Limerick region. They believe that home is at the core of the human experience and that home is not a place but a community that is inclusive, empowering, and diverse, built not from blood and outdated traditions but of love and shared ideals. Their main activities are: (a) Participate in conferences/networking; (b) Hold Trans Writing showcases; (c) Deliver trans awareness workshops and training/skill sharing workshops; (d) Host members meetings; (e) Hold Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil; (f) Create a TLC Mural in city centre and have TLC float in Limerick pride parade; (g) incorporate as an NPO; and (h) Zine/Book creation/publication/distribution.
Trans Women of Color Healing Project (USA)
Trans Women of Color Healing Project was formed in 2019 in Tyrone Georgia, USA. They have created many services to better equip and eliminate barriers that exist in the transgender community that have acted as deterrents and obstacles to some and makes it challenging to get jobs and rightful employment, accesses to healthcare, and healing methodologies as well as taking a crack at breaking down systems of oppressions that are present in the south. Their main activities are: (a) Deliver healing TWOC prevention & education for trans women of color participants and providers to increase knowledge and skills in providing gender affirming care; (b) Deliver individual healing sessions through therapy, workplace training, activism, advocacy and the arts and history; (c) Host TWOC Talk Virtual Group which creates a virtual space for bi-weekly community connection and therapeutic support; (d) Facilitate career and job placement through the #Wewantworktoo campaign which establishes relationships with safe and welcoming work environments for trans people; (e) Host “I Was Here” visibility and memorial events, which was created from the belief that representation and visibility are essential to creating a community inclusive of and responsive to the needs of trans people; (f) Engage in TWOC justice and harm prevention which centers the complex vulnerabilities and violence experienced by trans people; (g) Hold a TWOC Healing Space to empower transgender and nonbinary persons to lead authentically healthy and holistic lives by providing and/or connecting them with supportive services; (h) Lead the “Lifting Our Voices to Vote Campaign” which centers civic engagement and encourages people to vote; and (i) Host “Healing Through History Series” which combats the erasure of trans lives, narratives and existences and engages people in discovering, documenting, and collecting their rich history.
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