Advocacy for LGBTQIA Children, Youth Grows in Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

For those identifying as LGBT in Uganda, living in a rural area can make acceptance surprisingly easier. Due to smaller community sizes and more close-knit relationships, personal relationships often triumph over the prejudice beliefs permeating the culture.

The Aravani Art Project is a project that works to raise the visibility and voice of the trans community in India. It does so by employing them to paint murals across the country (and even one in Sri Lanka) featuring slices of life as a trans person. It took time to build trust with the community at first, but eventually the people behind the project developed a system of idea conception to realization with their participants. Over time they have developed long-term relationships with each other, and the trans community is slowly becoming comfortable with having a public voice.

Persons Marginalized and Aggrieved in Kenya works with religious leaders over the course of many years to build empathy and understanding towards the LGBTQ community. Faith leaders are often not immediately aware of the goal, but PEMA’s continuous and carefully orchestrated engagement allows them to gradually build relationships, hear personal stories from real people, and learn to preach tolerance. PEMA has worked with 619 religious leaders, 246 of which are currently active, and runs a Training of Trainers program where “converted” religious leaders train their colleagues to increase LGBTQ acceptance.

Pakistan's only church for transgender Christians has given its members the safety, acceptance, and joy they are often denied in the conservative, predominantly Muslim country. Called the First Church of Eunuchs – the name, considered derogatory by some, echoes the term for transgender women in South Asia – was formed by the country's only transgender lawyer, herself a Muslim, as a refuge for transgender Christians, who are often shunned, bullied, and abused by others, including other churches. The government recognized transgender as a third gender, but that has not changed all attitudes.

Barbershops are a key part of Black Americans' culture, but the culture within those barbershops tend to be homophobic and alienating to LGTBQ individuals. To address this, a number of barbershops are catering specifically to the LGBTQ community by offering a safe and open space to get a haircut. They are able to cultivate this community through social media by using strategic tags, influencers, platforms, and outreach. A client describes the relief of having an accepting barbershop: "You just don't know how comforting it is walking into a place where you know you’re safe.”

A handful of initiatives are underway in Japan to improve working conditions for members of the LGBTQ community. One, called Work With Pride, organizes an annual International Coming Out Day and educates workplaces on how to create an inclusive space. They have since certified almost 200 employers in LGBTQ-friendliness. Another, called JobRainbow, is an employment agency for LGBTQ and helps organization improve their diversity.

Bebo Haider, a transgender woman, was turned away from beauty salons in Pakistan so many times that she created her own salon open to people from all walks of life. The salon, called "Trawah," opened in January 2019 and aims to serve people from mainstream society as well as trans-communities in order to create a dialogue between the two. The salon also serves as a livelihood for trans people, with 25-35 customers a month, and is also funded by the Sub Rang Society and Oxfam Pakistan.

Vida Alegre, Spanish for "Happy Life," is a nonprofit in Mexico City that was founded by Samantha Flores, a transgender woman in her eighties. It's primary purpose is to serve as a source of community for transgender and LGBTQ senior citizens, many of whom have no other social contact. The center is an "oasis" that relieve many mental health issues for LGBTQ seniors that stem from lonliness, but the founder's next project is to create a residential home where "LGBTQ seniors can live together and have access to medical treatment and counseling."

A program out of Philadelphia’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce called TransWork aims to ease anxieties surrounding the experience of trans people in the workplace. They held a job fair in fall 2019 and educated the employers participating on inclusivity and safety for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks. For the attendees, the program helped ease anxieties of having to perform twice as hard and benefitted from resume and interview workshops and a job board. The program has received positive feedback and will continue expanding to offer resources for trans people in Philadelphia.

A unique Kuria tribal tradition in Tanzania called nyumba ntobhu (“house of women”) allows two women to legally marry despite a national persecution of homosexuality. The younger woman in the pair will bear children (by outside men) to become part of the older woman's family, thus ensuring that the older woman's land and lineage are passed on. Although this is a successful solution for some women who are escaping domestic violence, financial dependence, or loneliness, for other women it can be as limiting as a heterosexual codependent relationship.