Every year on 8 March, we mark International Women’s Day: celebrating the cultural, economic, social, and political achievements of women, and raising awareness of the obstacles and discrimination they also face around the world.
Today, we would like to highlight and celebrate the work we are doing as part of the Out of the Margins project, aimed at supporting lesbian, bi, and trans women (LBT+ communities) globally.
Across the globe, LBT+ areas are excluded by mainstream movements and the strategies that may assist them. The Out of the Margins project aims to promote and protect the rights of LBT+ people across the world, through strengthening the power of local civil society organizations. This work is informed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed in 2015 to create achievable steps towards peace and prosperity for people and the planet by 2030.
Out of the Margins draws on three distinct SDGs: ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Using these SDGs as a framework highlights how the experiences of LBT+ women are intrinsically linked to various issues happening worldwide- this is not generally accounted for in global development programs.
LBT+ people experience several inequalities across gender equality, health, human rights, and development areas, resulting in higher levels of stigma, discrimination, and violence. For example, LBT women are more likely (31%) than gay, bi, and trans men (21%) to experience food insecurity.
There is also a great occurrence, and certain experiences of violence, against LBT+ women including intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and police violence. In recent times this has been exacerbated by the international anti-rights movements working to reduce the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people worldwide.
Out of the Margins was established in 2017, with the help of FCDO, to improve LBT+ rights through research centered on the SDGs and rooted in local communities, using system-building and advocacy.
In 2024, we have reactivated this project to address the impacts of the anti-rights movements and the erosion of LBT+ rights, and to seize opportunities of the SDGs in the lead-up to 2030. With three partners in the Caribbean, Southern Africa, and Eastern Europe, we will create innovative local strategies to counter anti-rights movement tactics, focusing on SDGs priorities to enhance LBT+ rights.
Local learnings will be shared with the global network through an interactive online platform and peer learning events, to develop professional and legal knowledge and skills across civil society organizations. This will create a sustained community of educated, empowered local advocates connected globally on advancing LBT+ rights, and ensure they are part of development initiatives.
This project will share resources and toolkits to improve participation, effectiveness, and impact of LBT+ organizations and across civil society worldwide. Their advocacy will increase awareness of LBT+ needs, and promote positive action by governments, donors, and multilaterals to commit to LBT+ rights through the SDG 2030 agenda.
Together, we’re fighting for a world where lesbians, bi women, and transgender people are fully included in their societies, and effectively brought Out of the Margins.
