There have been developments around Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights especially on legal and policy reform. However, SRHR continues to be the most controversial and contentious topics in Uganda’s legal, policy, social, cultural, and economic environments. The gap between the visible and invisible SRHR issues create unwanted outcomes for LBQ womxn as more often their SRHR needs are within the invisible and highly contested issues.
Akina Mama Wa Africa in collaboration with Freedom and Roam Uganda undertook a two days’ training of trainers on SRHR of LBQ womxn as Advocacy Champions to advocate for access to SRHR services for LBQ womxn in Uganda. The core goal of the training was to empower LBQ womxn to participate in SRHR decision making spaces and one of the specific objective was to equip LBQ womxn with knowledge and information on SRHR so as to engage meaningfully in SRHR decision making spaces and processes.
The two days’ efforts were to offer guidance to LBQ womxn in identifying their specific SRHR needs so as to meaningful participate in SRHR decision making spaces by engaging in advocacy for the inclusion and visibility of specific SRHR needs of LBQ womxn in their diversity. The training also intended to provide comprehensive knowledge on SRHR advocacy as well as support efforts of targeted advocacy for access to SRHR services for LBQ womxn in Uganda at both district and national level.
The project further equipped LBQ SRHR champions with advocacy skills who will pursue LBQ womxn advocacy goals. It is imagined that the training will strengthen the agency of LBQ womxn to demand for SRHR services and enhance advocacy capacities towards increased access to SRHR for LBQ womxn.
If LBQ womxn are equipped with the knowledge and have agency to pursue SRHR goals, have the skills and knowledge to make safe and informed decisions about their SRH, they will be better prepared to prevent sexual health issues (STIs, HIV, Hepatitis B, unwanted pregnancies, post-rape services, etc.), seek accessible, available and affordable quality healthcare and legal services when needed, have the agency to demand and seek legal redress when their SRHR are violated and services are denied, practice more safe sexual behaviors, and are equipped with information and life skills that enable them to make safe and healthy life choices; then the total enjoyment of SRHR can be achieved.
Therefore, we hope that LBQ womxn SRHR advocates will participate more effectively in efforts and interventions that challenge laws, policies, and programmes to ensure more responsive and inclusivity of diverse and dynamic SRHR needs of LBQ womxn in Uganda.
