Uthingo Network
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to ensure the recognition of LGBTQI+ human rights at the community and policy levels through institutional change and partnerships in rural communities through human-centred approaches.
About This Cause
Uthingo Network, formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Network, is a KwaZulu-Natal [KZN] based human rights organisation that advocates for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons with a specific focus on rural communities. Founded in 2003 as a response to the need for safe spaces where LGBTQI+ people could socialise without fearing discrimination, stigmatisation, and anti-LGBTQI+ violence, Uthingo Network has developed into a formal and legally registered non-government community-based organisation. We are the only well-established LGBTQI+ organisation that operates in rural KwaZulu-Natal. We also support many smaller LGBTQI+ groups to register as formal organisations and act as their fiscal hosts. Our work is inspired by the fact that KZN is South Africa’s 2nd populous province, and rural communities are associated with a lower acceptance for LGBTQI+ people. However, despite this reality, funding for LGBTQI+ equality, safety, and social and economic inclusion is focused in the urban centres of Johannesburg and Cape Town. As a result, for the past 23 years, our approach continues to be a collaboration with the broader community and other strategic partners, including families, the education and health sectors, and traditional, religious, and political leaders to create an inclusive, safe, equitable, and LGBTQI+-affirming society in which LGBTQI+ persons can access their Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics [SOGIESC] rights without fearing stigma and discrimination. Over the past five years, our baseline evaluation conducted with LGBTQI+ people informed us that LGBTQI+ people face multiple challenges in accessing employment opportunities, maintaining their livelihood, and achieving financial security. Some are rejected by their families and cannot benefit from the support they need to complete their education and enter the job market. Those still in school are harassed and end up dropping out and losing the opportunity to gain the skills they need to secure a job. At the same time, those who are educated and enter the workplace may experience stigma and discrimination or can be fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Lastly, those who decide to start businesses also face multiple challenges, including a lack of access to the skills-building and no access to financial capital they need to start and run a business. As a result, LGBTQI+ people are often disproportionately affected by poverty and have adverse socio-economic outcomes. Through our advocacy, we have facilitated LGBTQI+ inclusion work with schools and universities in KwaZulu-Natal to capacitate teachers, learners, and other personnel with the knowledge and skills they need to help them foster inclusive and affirming school environments so that LGBTQI+ learners can finish school without experiencing anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination that leads to them to drop out of school. We also worked with organisations to help them foster LGBTQ+ inclusive work cultures that will ensure that LGBTQI+ employees are afforded the same respect and legal protections that are enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts in the organisations.