Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, HIV and Human Rights - An Advocacy Toolkit

This advocacy tool provides user-friendly guidance, case studies and tools specifically directed at strengthening and promoting advocacy towards the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Southern and East Africa.  It was developed by the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA),  a partnership of over 80 civil society organisations from 18 countries in Southern and East Africa, whose mission is to promote a rights-based response to HIV and TB through capacity strengthening and advocacy. The Toolkit focuses specifically on promoting universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for LGBTI persons.

As stated in the manual, “SOGI [sexual orientation and gender identity] rights advocacy is critical in Southern and East Africa, where increasing human rights violations against LGBTI populations not only impacts on the equality and dignity of people, but also limits the rights to health. Effective SOGI rights  advocacy requires collaboration between LGBTI and non-LGBTI organisations in the region in order to realise common goals of protecting and promoting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all populations in the context of HIV.” This manual seeks to provide guidance to support the collaborative advocacy efforts between LGBTI and non-LGBTI organisations.  Specifically, the Toolkit is intended for a wide range of national organisations (e.g.  LGBTI  organisations, human rights organisations, AIDS Service Organisations (ASO); organisations of vulnerable and key populations such as women’s groups, youth groups, sex worker networks; faith-based organisations), custodians and community stakeholders to support effective advocacy around health and human rights for LGBTI  people, including at national level and in collaboration with ARASA and ARASA partners at regional and international levels.

The manual is structured as follows:

Section 1  - deals with sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV in Southern and East Africa. 

• Chapter 1 provides a background to human rights violations experienced by LGBTI individuals across Africa and the world and explains how punitive laws and policies impact on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for LGBTI populations.
• Chapter 2 looks in further detail at HIV in relation to specific human rights and rights  relating  to sexual orientation and gender identity. It provides information on basic human rights and looks more specifically at why human rights are critical to LGBTI advocacy and how the protection and promotion of specific rights impacts on sexual and reproductive health, with a particular focus on HIV.
• Chapter 3 includes Frequently  Asked  Questions (FAQ) which are often asked of non-LGBTI  organisations and people working on LGBTI issues relating to their work and why they support the human rights of LGBTI persons. They are included to guide activists to respond more effectively to some of the most commonly asked questions.

Section 2 - provides advocacy guidance.

• Chapter 4 defines advocacy in the context of LGBTI advocacy.
• Chapter 5 looks at how to go about developing an advocacy agenda. It discusses why an advocacy agenda is important, how to determine what SOGI rights issues to work on and setting your goals and objectives.
• Chapter 6 discusses how to develop an advocacy strategy relating to your goal. It includes a discussion of how to map your stakeholders, identify your advocacy targets and identify  allies and partners as well as understand your opponents. Finally, it considers how to select the advocacy tools you will use to achieve your objectives, with a discussion of each strategy and case studies of successful advocacy campaigns.

The Advocacy Toolkit includes a list of references and resources for further information on specific issues, as well as further informative annexures.