“Pink” human rights defender NGO implements various programs to fulfill its mission, achieve its goals, and solve statutory issues.

“Advancing the Movement Through Sustainable Development”

Project duration: 2021-2024

Project donor: The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Project directions:

• To advance the human rights protection of LGBT+ people through strengthening the capacity of LGBT+ movement, building evidence-based communication and advocating for developing legal regulations and policies for mitigating discrimination, hate speech, hate crimes and other types of violations against LGBT+ people in Armenia.

“Looking In Before Looking Out: Strengthening the Capacity of LGBTIQ+ Movement”

Project duration: 2022

Project donor: LGBT+ Denmark / New Democracy Fund

Project directions:

• To strengthen partnerships and initiate dialogues between LGBTIQ+ civil society organizations to contribute to the improvement of LGBTIQ+ rights, to build partnerships across Eastern Neighborhood Countries (ENC) to work towards community engagement, organizational development, strengthening solidarity.
• To have a support system for LGBTIQ+ and allies in Armenia, a collaboration between LGBTIQ+ and human rights CSOs in Armenia, organize different events and meetings for LGBTQI+ people from regions.

The project aims at strengthening partnerships and initiate dialogues between LGBTIQ+ civil society organizations to contribute to the improvement of personal self-efficacy and broader LGBTIQ+ rights. This will be achieved through the establishment of an LGBTIQ+ community center in rural Armenia including the provision of services, social activities, workshops and capacity building for LGBTIQ+ community members and human rights organizations. The activities will contribute to a greater involvement of rural LGBTIQ+ voices and this is further supported through study visits to learn from each other across regions in Armenia.

“Advancing Dignity and Equality for LGBTI People”

Project duration: 2019 – 2023

Project donor: USAID

Project directions:

• Reducing the level of discrimination, stigma and violence against LGBT people within the RA legislative field, the policies related to human rights protection. As well as the promotion of the human rights of LGBT people on the basis of protecting the interests of LGBT people, allies, and supporters through the development of constructive communication strategies․
• Implement capacity building for LGBT organizations, allies and supporters by enhancing research, strategic communication and policy development skills․
• Support the implementation of fact-finding programs which address the stigma, violence, and discrimination against LGBT people.
• Provide emergency assistance to victims of violence.

Within the framework of this project, comprehensive research is conducted, which is aimed at studying the political and cultural context of LGBT issues. Ongoing monitoring of information and media is carried out to assess and analyze the level of discrimination against LGBT people, as well as to take steps based on the results to reduce stigma and discrimination against LGBT people.

Within the framework of this project, the capacity of local LGBT civil society organizations will be developed and partnerships will be established through the promotion of the rights of LGBT people and ensuring their inclusion. A number of grants will be provided within these partnerships.

In addition, direct assistance will be provided to LGBT people who have been physically, psychologically or sexually abused on the basis of alleged or actual SOGI.

“Turning the Tide: Counteracting Anti-Gender Discourse and Advancing Progressive Norms in Eastern Europe”

Project duration: 2021 – 2022

Project donor: Papardes Zieds / Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

Project directions:

• To monitor, study and analyze the public discourses of anti-gender movements, find methods to effectively counter them and then apply these methods.

Anti-gender movements carry hateful and discriminatory narratives based on gender, which not only negatively affect various segments of society in general but also specifically affect women and LGBT people. They usually spread manipulative thoughts and use special methods of spreading misinformation, as a result of which discrimination and stigma against LGBT people deepen among the public.

During the project, monitoring and analysis of Armenian online mass media are carried out, later to show discriminatory approaches in the online field in Armenia, which are reproduced by mass media and social media. Since dialogue with these media sources is almost impossible, a course on media literacy and sexuality is conducted for social media influencers to counteract the issues.