LGBT Rights in Kenya - Organisations

Organisations

The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) "is out to ensure that Kenya's anti-LGBTI laws are repealed and protective laws for LGBTI people are enacted. In addition, GALCK ... provides legal advice and assistance to LGBTI people who are victims of Kenya's existing anti-LGBTI laws or who are victims of physical violence or any form of discrimination that may be related to their known or presumed sexual orientation".

Six organisations are members of GALCK:

• Ishtar MSM seeks "full sexual health rights and social well being for men who have sex with men".
• Minority Women in Action "advocate for the rights of LBTI women ... by engaging with national and international structures".
• The Gay Kenya Trust seeks to be the "leading human rights advocacy organization for the attainment of a society that is inclusive and free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation".
• Established in December 2008, Transgender Education and Advocacy "aims to change the public mentality towards transgender/transsexual people through awareness raising campaigns, advocating for legal and policy reforms and empowering transgender / transsexual people".
• The mission of Artists for Recognition and Acceptance is to "provide a platform for expression and engagement with the wider society through art and a safe haven for LBT women".
• Persons Marginalized and Aggrieved (PEMA-Kenya), formerly known as the Mombasa Brotherhood, seeks to "create, raise and promote public awareness, tolerance and acceptance of PEMA in the society".

GALCK's resource centre in Nairobi opened in 2008. The centre functions as offices for the six organizations. A week before World Aids Day on 1 December 2008, GALCK mobilized 230 LGBTI persons to attend voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services held at the centre. This was the first time in Kenya that VCT services specifically targeted LGBTI persons. Important lessons were learned about the existing VCT policy and implementation gaps, and GALCK is working with the National AIDS Control Council (NACC), in collaboration with Liverpool VCT, Care and Treatment (LVCT), to address these gaps. One notable gap is that HIV prevalence among the LGBTI community was found to be 23 percent, double the previous estimate of 9.3 percent.

GALCK has built coalitions with mainstream organizations, like the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and with HIV/AIDS bodies, including LVCT and the NACC. Thanks to these relationships, GALCK was involved formally in the drafting of the National AIDS Strategic Plan for 2010-13. GALCK is also involved in the review of the National Voluntary Care and HIV Testing Form, so that information collected and counselling given during testing is reflective of the needs of the LGBTI community.