3 February 2022 — Founding of Hope Trans Initiative, Kenya

Founded on 3 February 2022, Hope Trans Initiative is non-profit advocacy organisation founded by trans individuals who had the passion and desire to support intersex, trans and gender non-conforming (ITGNC) people to gain access to affirming care and equal opportunities. The organisation was founded as a support group by Faith Blessing, Beryl Achieng, Brian Muchere, Vicky Masinde and Rinah Olukusi due to lack of an inclusive organising within Kenya for rural and peri-urban areas along the coast of Kenya in Mombasa County that could provide safe spaces, gender-affirming services and advocate for ending the injustices that this segment of the community face. The organisation is registered, but not as an LGBTQIA+, trans or intersex organisation due to government regulations.

Country Context

The support group was formed to support ITGNC persons that were vulnerable to lack of safety and security, and further exploitation based on the myths around homosexuality and its relation to gender identity. According to Hope Trans Initiative, homosexuals and gender variant people in Kenya, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas,

“are largely depicted as a taboo, curse, devil worshippers and repugnant to the culture of our society with majority being denied their right to an identity, suffer stigma and discrimination and sexual violation and social marginalization. This has kept them from socializing and being active members of the community thus hindering the development of self-confidence, and in-turn leading to social anxiety and depression.

Specifically, within healthcare setting, medical professionals, directly and indirectly, discriminate against ITGNC persons by miss-gendering individuals, breaking confidentiality at facilities, and asking intrusive questions. On the other hand, affirming health care for intersex, transgender and gender nonconforming persons is unavailable while at the same time, sex reassignment and HIV programming rarely considers the situation of ITGNC persons. Additionally, ITGNC persons within coastal region face wide spread of violation spanning from arbitrary arrest and detention, humiliating body checks and frisking to determine one’s biological sex, false accusation of intent to impersonate of false pretense as our physical anatomy might not match our gender expression and identity and by virtue of having bodies that often fall outside of the culturally accepted norms.”

Vision

A resilient and vibrant society committed to equality, diversity and inclusion irrespective of sexual and gender orientation.

Mission

To foster a sense of belonging to eliminate all forms of inequalities through integrated programmes, with the emphasis being on gender affirming, establishing a safe space, providing training and advocacy, awareness raising and sensitisation and, psycho-social support and stakeholder’s engagement to enhance a society committed to equity, diversity and inclusion for holistic empowerment and social change.

From the Legal and Gender Recognition (LGR) Stakeholders Summit in Mombasa County.

Goals/Objectives

To provide holistic, effective and reliable care and support for ITGNC persons within the Kenyan coastal region, spanning from safe spaces, psycho-social support, and ITGNC-friendly counselling services.
To advocate for the human rights of ITGNC people and change the attitudes of the society towards sexual and gender minorities to end stigma, discrimination and all forms of violence and social marginalisation against sexual and gender minorities that deny these communities an opportunity to live dignified lives to their full potential.
To galvanise a sustainable, self-sufficient and resilient movement of ITGNC people to promote access to gender-affirming healthcare services.
To step in the gap of other similar organisations that overlook rural and per-urban coastal regions and to advocate for the rights and equal treatment of ITGNC
persons who have had lived experience of deeply rooted stigma, rights violation and social exclusion in order to promote the overall well-being through psychosocial and socio-economic empowerment.
To provide a platform for ITGNC persons to assert their power in numbers energy and imagination to transform society to be a beacon of hope for all its people and to build a better society.

A group talk about drugs and substance abuse within the community

Programmatic Areas

Advocacy: Facilitate advocacy campaigns to advocate for the fundamental needs of ITGNC persons and to send an unambiguous message to the communities they serve that all humans, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, deserve the same respect, protection, and realisation of their rights while challenging existing power struggles to improve care, demand resources and influence policies wherever they are needed as we remain open to equality, diversity and at the same time safeguarding confidentiality and lobbying for institutional policy changes so that they remain resolute in advancing justice, often in the face of ongoing violence, inequity, and exclusion.
Psycho-social support: Provide access to competent psycho-social support for ITGNC persons within the Kenyan coastal region through counselling, formation of mentorship and support groups that are specific to the needs of ITGNC persons, support provision of access to psychiatric care
and rehabilitation, and facilitating a holistic approach to mental and broader individual well-being that enables a healthy environment for an individual to manage normal stressors of life and identify positive coping mechanisms.
Awareness building and sensitisation: To increase awareness and understanding of ITGNC people and share knowledge to empower the community and to help service providers, professionals, families and the public to better understand ITGNC needs.
Safety and security: To reduce violence against ITGNC within coastal region through community-led safety initiatives focused on improving conditions for people most affected by systemic violence and discrimination within ITGNC communities, based on their sexual and gender orientation/expression. On the other hand, we work to increase ITGNC affirming protections that promote full inclusion and equal opportunity while increasing social inclusion and public support for the ITGNC community.
Organisational system strengthening: aimed at building a strong, dynamic, resilient institution that is effective and efficient in delivering its mandate.

Contact

Email: hopetransinitiative@gmail.com
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