Oxfam

Pride banner with all LGBTQIA+ colours of black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, turquoise and pink featuring the words "Oxfam is here for you, me, her, him, them, all of us. A fairer world includes everyone."
Pride banner with all LGBTQIA+ colours of black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, turquoise and pink featuring the words "Oxfam is here for you, me, her, him, them, all of us. A fairer world includes everyone."

Why does Oxfam support LGBTQIA+ people?

As an international charity best known for working towards ending poverty we often get asked why we care about LGBTQIA+ rights.

The answer is very simple – poverty is linked to inequality. Only when we respect and uphold all human rights can we overcome poverty.

We subscribe to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We believe everyone has the human right to dignity and to freedom of sexual identity, gender identity and expression.

None of us are safe until we are all safe.

Oxfam

Why are LGBTQIA+ rights important?

Still today, in the UK and around the world, LGBTQIA+ people are facing discrimination that increases their likelihood of living in poverty. To dismantle the systems that keep people in poverty, we must understand this discrimination, so that we can challenge it together.

Because of discrimination, LGBTQIA+ people globally are more likely than others to:

  • Live in poverty
  • Experience unemployment
  • Experience homelessness
  • Lack access to healthcare
  • Experience violence
  • Experience sexual assault
  • Experience mental health issues

I choose a climate of love. Image by @studiokohl

I choose a climate of love.

We work with communities and organisations globally toward a just world. A world where people can live with dignity, have their basic needs met and their fundamental rights respected. We work for a world where people can speak up for their rights, their needs and their concerns, so people in power listen and act.

This is why supporting LGBTQIA+ people is part of Oxfam's work to end poverty and inequality.

Oxfam and partners working with LGBTQIA+ communities

We are dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ people through specific partner-led programmes.

Gay Alliance Ukraine

In Ukraine, people are being misgendered and blocked from fleeing the fighting, while some also face discrimination when trying to seek shelter in other countries. Oxfam is working with Gay Alliance Ukraine, and organisation involved in mobilising the LGBTQIA+ community, strengthening the capacity of this community in advocacy, human rights and improving life in Ukraine. Find out more about Oxfam's work with Gay Alliance Ukraine.

Oxfam staff member Michelle in Poland. Image: Tineke D'haese/Oxfam

Oxfam staff member Michelle has been working with Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Read more about Gay Alliance Ukraine

Lebanon

Lebanon’s queer communities have few safe spaces left and have been among the hardest hit by the combined impacts of the ongoing Israeli airstrikes, 2020 Beirut blast, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing economic crisis, according to Oxfam research.

The combination of crises has destroyed entire neighbourhoods where queer people had found refuge over the last decade. Oxfam’s report, Queer Community in Crisis: Trauma, Inequality & Vulnerability, is one of the first studies conducted in Lebanon to understand the impact of the multi-layered crises facing the LGBTQIA+ community and their unique needs.

Queer communities at risk in Lebanon

Oxfam published one of the first studies to understand the impact of the multi-layered crises facing the LGBTQIA+ community in Lebanon and their unique needs.

Find out more

Uskikimye, Kenya

Uskikimye is a dynamic women's rights organisation working to combat gender-based violence in deprived areas of Nairobi.  It is part of Oxfam's Women's Rights Fund – currently running in Kenya and Palestine.  As part of their work, Usikimye support members of the LGBTQIA+ community to create safe spaces to meet and access essential services such as legal and medical assistance. Find out more about Usikimye and the Women's Rights Fund.

Credit: Oxfam GB

Women from Uskikimye women's rights organisation in Nairobi, Kenya.

Learn about the Women's Rights Fund

Rainbow Pride Foundation, Fiji

In Fiji, the Rainbow Pride Foundation (RPF) works to build a better financial future for the LGBTQIA+ community through initiatives like a communal farm and a ‘Queerpreneurs’ programme.

Through their work they are tackling food and housing insecurity while also supporting LGBTQIA+ people to establish small businesses.

Benjamin, a Queerpreneurs Expo organiser and participant, in Suva, Fiji. Image: Alipate Laveti/Oxfam

It [Queerpreneurs Expo] also provides you with that support system where you know it's okay to be queer, it's okay to be an entrepreneur. We're here for you. Let's work together as a community.”

Benjamin, a Queerpreneurs Expo organiser and participant, in Suva, Fiji.

Read Benjamin's story

LGBTQIA+ resources for wellbeing

  • Stonewall: Leading charity for LGBTQ+ resources and support
  • LGBTQIA+ Switchboard: National LGBT+ helpline open daily 10am-10pm
  • Galop: UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity working with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence.
  • Mind Out: Mental health charity for LGBTQ+ community
  • House of Rainbow: A safe space for LGBTQIA+ people of colour
  • Terrence Higgins Trust: HIV and sexual health charity
  • Mermaids: Supports trans, non-binary and gender-diverse children, young people and their families.
  • Gendered Intelligence: Expanding the understanding of gender diversity.
  • LGBT Foundation: provides services and activities to LGBTQ+ people.