GENDER NON-CONFORMING PROGRAMME

Overview

The Gender Non-Conforming (GNC) programme primarily serves gender non-conforming and nonbinary persons above the age of 18. Gender non-conforming persons are individuals whose gender identity, role and/or expression differ from the cultural norms prescribed for people of their particular sex, whereas nonbinary persons are individuals whose genders fall outside the binary genders of man and woman.

The programme was started in 2020 to address the growing need to have GNC and nonbinary specific advocacy, activities and interventions, due to the unique needs and challenges of this community, particularly having to navigate a binary gender system as gender non-conforming and nonbinary persons in an environment with rigid gender norms.

Objectives

  • To advocate for nonbinary and GNC competent healthcare that is available, appropriate and accessible to all nonbinary and GNC people across Kenya.

  • To strengthen nonbinary and GNC voices, autonomy, organising and advocacy.

  • To ensure nonbinary and GNC people are able to enjoy a decent standard of living in safety and security, through the recognition of their rights as Kenyans, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

  • Provide effective and reliable and care and support to nonbinary and GNC Kenyans including safe spaces, psycho-social support, and nonbinary and GNC friendly counseling services.

  • Mobilise financial, human and material resources to allow the GNC programme to carry out further programming activities and facilitate the holistic empowerment of its members.

Core Programme Activities

1. Advocacy and awareness creation

2. Research and knowledge production

3. Provision of safe spaces and psychosocial support

4. Safety, security, and protection for nonbinary and GNC persons in Kenya

5. Member empowerment and capacity building

6. Facilitate access to healthcare and justice

PROGRAMME MILESTONES & ACHIEVEMENTS

  • The GNC programme commemorated the first Nonbinary Awareness Week in July of 2020 with a social media campaign that highlighted the lived realities of nonbinary persons in Kenya.

  • The first national convening of Gender Non-Conforming (GNC) and nonbinary individuals, activists, and community organizers in Kenya took place on 16th July 2020. It was convened by Jinsiangu and had representation from LBQ Education, Health and Advocacy (LEHA),

    Minority Womyn in Action (MWA), COSIR, Foundation for LBQ refugees (FLBQR), Coast

    Women for Women (CWW), African Queer Youth Initiative (AQYI), Queerhive, and Jinsiangu. The aim of the convening was to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities with GNC and nonbinary programming and organizing in Kenya, and thus chart a way forward for joint advocacy efforts.

    There was an emphasis on:

    • Knowledge production and information dissemination on GNC and nonbinary issues because there is a lot of misinformation on the topic, even among GNC and nonbinary persons. This has affected how programming and advocacy for GNC and nonbinary persons is done in most organizations.

    • Creation of nonbinary-specific spaces and programmes because even though nonbinary persons have been able to benefit from LGBQ spaces, especially in terms of service provision and security response, they are still marginalized and tokenized in these spaces.

    • Self-defence classes and a series of security trainings to help nonbinary and GNC persons to defend themselves and avoid the voluntary assumption of risk.

  • Nonbinary Awareness Week 2021 Social Media Campaign International Nonbinary Awareness Week is observed each year starting on the Sunday or Monday preceding International Non-Binary People’s Day on the 14th of July and is aimed at raising awareness and organizing around the issues faced by nonbinary people around the world.

    To commemorate the week in 2021 Jinsiangu held a social media campaign to counter misinformation on nonbinary gender identities. Nonbinary persons shared their experiences under the hashtags

    #BeyondTheBinaryKE, #KenyanEnby, #NonbinaryAwarenessWeek and #InternationalNonbinaryPeoplesDay.