Pride Guard

Key Populations Uganda

Uganda's LGBTIQ community faces severe repression in physical and digital civic spaces due to regressive laws like the NGO Act (2016), Public Order Management Act (2013), and the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023). These laws restrict access to information, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly, grossly curtailing civic and political rights. LGBTIQ persons with disabilities experience heightened poverty and multiple intersecting forms of discrimination and violence. The recent upholding of the Anti-Homosexuality Act by the Constitutional Court exacerbates discrimination and increases violence and threats against the LGBTQ community. In response, our organization Key Populations Uganda and other partners have shut down websites to avoid legal repercussions, as the law criminalizes LGBTQ advocacy messages that amount to promoting Homosexuality, endangering activists' safety and their ability to fight for equality and inclusion. This project aims to empower 80 LGBTIQ and gender diverse Human Rights Activists in Uganda by conducting workshops on LGBTQ rights and digital insecurities, training on counter-narrative campaigns and media literacy, and enhancing digital safety and security. Additionally, it will support and monitor the implementation of data protection practices to safeguard against legal repercussions and ensure their safety and advocacy efforts. Project beneficiaries will participate in community-based workshops: to identify the impact gender discrimination on mental well-being of LGBTQ persons; to integrate a rights-based approach to LGBTQ initiatives; and to use counter-narrative campaigns and media and information literacy skills to tackle misinformation, disinformation, advocacy of hatred, and other types of online human rights violations targeting LGBTQ persons.