Who We Are

LGBT Voice Volunteers

LGBT Voice Tanzania is a registered national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) organization working to advance equality, diversity, education, and justice for LGBT people in Tanzania

OUR HISTORY

In 2009, a group of LGBT+ individuals in Dar es Salaam founded LGBT Voice Tanzania out of a desire for a more just society that values diversity, where discrimination does not exist, where people live fully with pride and confidence, and celebrate their unique strengths. Gays, Lesbians, Transgendered and Bisexual Tanzanians simply seek, and deserve, the same things all Tanzanians do:

  • to take care of each other and our families
  • to have good jobs,
  • to support our neighborhoods
  • to publicly serve our local, national, and religious communities

Since our founding, We have worked tirelessly in direct aid to individuals in crisis, health care access, political advocacy, and education/media

Our Vision

A world where LGBT+ people can thrive free from the limitations of gender identity and sex orientation oppressions.

Our Mission?

Build a strong, vibrant future for the LGBT+ community, meeting the needs, advancing the rights, and celebrating the lives of Gay, Lesbians, bisexual and Transgender people and communities in Tanzania.

Our Values

All of LGBT VOICE`s work is guided by a commitment to five core values:

  • A commitment to social justice
  • A commitment to building our communities and the organizations that serve LGBT people
  • A commitment to diversity
  • A commitment to openness, inclusion, and partnership
  • A commitment to challenging and ending anti-LGBT discrimination

Although Tanzania is a member and a subscriber of the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, the government does not comply with its international human rights obligations, and provides no protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Homophobia takes many forms in Tanzania:

  • verbal abuse and intimidation
  • physical abuse
  • expulsion from school
  • discrimination at work
  • psychological abuse
  • the production of anti-Gay movies
  • rejection and isolation from families, friends, and communities
  • sexual abuse
  • denial of health care services
  • arbitrary arrest and imprisonment

All these forms of homophobia are destructive, not only for those who live openly as LGBT+, but for our country and society as a whole. Children are taught to hate from an early age, and the cycle of prejudice, violence, and hate continues, generation after generation. This must be stopped.

We want the Tanzanian government to live up to its moral obligation, according to the United Nations Human Rights Declaration. We insist that all citizens are entitled to equal rights and protection under the law, and we seek a country where all can enjoy “life, liberty, and security of person.”

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