Sexuality, Gender & Rights

Our prevention programme engaging with transgender and hijra community members, men who have sex with men and female sex workers is focussed on a rights-based approach of ensuring overall wellbeing for the community. These populations are highly stigmatised and marginalised by society for their choices of lifestyle, work or gender. The needs and vulnerabilities of these groups, therefore, require prevention services that are specific to them.

To create enabling environment, generate demand for services as well as to provide treatment literacy, our programmes conduct sensitisation training for the community service providers, and health care providers. Efforts are made to increase the capacity of the programme staff to reach the unreached, hidden and new population while also increasing the capacities of communities to advocate for their access to and scale-up of health and human rights services.

Our prevention programme strengthens community-led responses to mitigate violence against the transgender and hijra community and support empowerment as a strategy to enhance access to sexual health services. Our work with female sex workers focuses on improving access to sexual reproductive health services and addressing gender-based violence among women in sex work. Community-based HIV screening and testing services for men who have sex with men has helped the community access services in a safe, confidential and stigma-free environment.