Queer Women Leaders Uganda SRHR mentorship

We are working on the issue of the systemic marginalization and lack of tailored support for LBQ women in the field of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.

LBQ women face disproportionate challenges in accessing comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare, often due to discrimination and a lack of access to friendly services. This results in higher rates of unmet healthcare needs, increased risk of sexual and reproductive health issues, and reduced quality of life for LBQ individuals. Existing mentorship programs primarily cater to broader LGBTQ+ groups, leaving the specific needs of LBQ women unaddressed.
Due to this level of discrimination and stigmatization they are less likely to receive necessary healthcare services and screenings due to discrimination, fear of judgment, or a lack of LGBTQ+-friendly providers. Discrimination and stigmatization often leads to higher rates of mental health challenges among LBQ individuals including issues around anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation. In many places, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education does not include information relevant to LBQ individuals, leaving them uninformed about their unique health needs. Globally, LBQ women often face higher rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to a lack of tailored sexual health information and services due to the misconception that LBQ women cannot contract with HIV from their sexual practices. This problem is on the rise within Uganda due to the signing of the Anti-homosexuality Bill in uganda and it varied globally from country to country due to the different policy differences within countries. 

This mentorship program aims to empower LBQ women to develop innovative solutions that cater to the specific needs of LBQ women in their communities, therefore reducing health disparities and promoting inclusivity in SRHR.

It's a program that connects LBQ individuals with experienced professionals in the field of SRHR, guiding them to develop innovative solutions specifically designed to meet the unique needs of LBQ women. Below are some of the things we shall do:

1. Mentorship: Pair LBQ mentees with mentors who are experts in SRHR. These mentors will provide guidance, support, and knowledge to help mentees learn from mentors work in SRHR, leadership and project management.

2. Project Incubation: this will entail asking mentees to develop innovative SRHR projects tailored to LBQ women's needs. They will receive resources and guidance to bring their ideas to life.

How it works:

• LBQ mentees are matched with experienced mentors based on their specific needs and interests.
• They engage in regular meetings and skill-building workshops, both in-person and virtually.
• Mentees develop their own SRHR projects, guided by mentors and using the skills they've acquired.
• The program actively engages in advocacy for positive change in SRHR policies and services.
• Technology-wise, we will ensure to use online platforms for virtual meetings, educational resources, and project collaboration.

The target population we aim to directly and meaningfully improve are LBQ (Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer) individuals. They are underserved in several ways:

LBQ women often face discrimination in healthcare settings, making them hesitant to seek essential sexual and reproductive health services. This leads to unmet healthcare needs and poorer health outcomes. The stigma and discrimination LBQ women face can result in higher rates of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation. Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education often excludes LBQ-specific information, leaving them uninformed about their unique health needs. Few healthcare providers and support services are designed with the specific needs of LBQ women in mind, leaving them without the critical support they require.

Our solution, addresses these needs in the following ways. We connect LBQ women with experienced mentors in SRHR who understand their unique challenges and can provide guidance, support, and a safe space to discuss their concerns and equip LBQ mentees with knowledge and skills in SRHR, helping them make informed decisions about their health. It encourages LBQ women to develop innovative SRHR projects tailored to their needs, thereby filling the gaps in healthcare services and promoting inclusivity. The program empowers mentees to lead change in SRHR policies and services, advocating for more inclusive and LGBTQ+- friendly healthcare. 

The Team Lead and several team members are themselves LBQ women, providing firsthand insight into the challenges, discrimination, and unmet needs experienced by this community. This personal connection drives our determination to make a meaningful impact. We often conduct ongoing engagement with the LBQ communities through surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews. This allows us to better understand the specific challenges they face in the realm of SRHR. Our solution's design and implementation are guided by the communities' input, ideas, and agendas. We actively involve LBQ individuals in the planning process, ensuring that their voices and experiences are at the forefront. We have established partnerships with local LBQ organizations and LGBTQ+ community centers, where we regularly hold meetings and workshops to gather feedback and co-create the program. This ensures that our solution remains relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of the communities we serve. Our team actively seeks advice and collaboration with LBQ leaders and advocates, ensuring that the program aligns with the broader goals and agendas of the LBQ communities.

Our solution serves 300 LBQ women in the 3 regions of Uganda, that is the Eastern, western and central regions of Uganda. 

This is innovative because we intend to use LBQ women on the grassroot, women that are affected by the by these issues mainly because of their location and their standards of living. We intend to source these women through the different grassroot organizations in far to reach Areas in Uganda and be able to train them in different SRHR programs and leadership through connecting them to mentors guide them in creating an innovative solution and we will be able to support them with the relevant resources to bring their idea into reality. 

We shall use the technology to teach the LBQ women create creative material online that will be used to speak for the different diversities of LBQ women that will be able to ensure that they make an impact both online and offline. 

Our goal for the next year is to build more strong,resilient and sustainable interlinks between minotrities and mainstream such as stakeholders and governments. 

In the next 5 years, we are looking forward to widening our wings to East Africa with LBQ women from diverse countries to learn from each other and be able to tap into the different spaces in the different countries with an aim of improving the lives of LBQ women everywhere.

We shall achieve this through the work that we are doing in our lenses of feminist leadership and political participation, holistic healing justice and SRHR advocacy and policy influencing connect all to SRHR and vice versa in a unique and innovative way. 

We expect our solution to have an impact because we are LBQ women in the grassroots equipping them with the relevant skills and capabilities to make change in the SRHR issues they are facing in their communities; we are doing this with an anticipation that the LBQ women will be tapping into issues that are personalized to their experiences according to their communities thereby making this project impactful to them. 

We shall also tech them in skills such as content creation to be able to use technology to reach far places and also continue to advocate and inform their innovation. 

12 LBQ women all full time

we have been working towards this cause for over 2 years now

We are ensuring diversities in the LBQ women our team includes a number of diversities such as those living with HIV, sex workers, those living on islands and far to reach places, LBQ women leaders and LBQ women living with disabilities. We always come together to push the mission of the organization further and improve the lives of LBQ women in those diversities.

We value our beneficiaries in terms of impact because they are the ones that drive our passionate work because we are them and they are us as we are interconnected in a way that what affects them affects us and vice versa. we provide them with services such as political participation and feminist leadership, holistic healing justice and SRHR advocacy and policy influencing through unique ways such as capacity building, advocacy campaigns, research and information sharing among others.

We intend to financially sustain this through our different mentee mentorship that those mentors that have been trained and carried out their projects bring others on board to also be trained and make an impact, which will help to create a movement of LBQ women that has practically been involved in positive change in their communities that can now be further supported in different spaces to continue with their advocacy. We also will ensure to support them through sharing opportunities and supporting their growth though referring them to different spaces where they can create change and impact.