Equal Ground
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: Equal Ground is a non-profit organization based in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, that advocates for political and social rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT),
intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...
and
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
people. The organization, established in 2004, claims to be the first organization in Sri Lanka that welcomes people of all
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
s and
gender identities Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
... The organization was founded by Sri Lankan
gay rights activist A list of notable LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Argentina * Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partner were the first les ...
Rosanna Flamer-Caldera Rosanna Flamer-Caldera (born March 18, 1956) is a Sri Lankan LGBT rights activist. She lived in the US for over a decade and when she returned to Sri Lanka, she became the female Asian representative to ILGA and later its co-secretary general. She ...
and offers trilingual publications and services. It aims to achieve its goals through political activism, education, personal support, building awareness and through organized community events. It has been working more closely with lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in areas of
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
, law reform,
sexual health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...
, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The organization continues to face many challenges working in Sri Lanka where homosexuality is stigmatized and considered criminal offense that can earn up to ten years of prison under the law. Efforts of the LGBT activists to undo the British colonial law criminalizing sodomy was not repealed, but the law was expanded to include women and the penalty was worsened. Queer groups in Sri Lanka have frequently stated that some of their members have been subjected to harassment—by blackmail or by threats with exposition or arrest—by police and other people, using the legal provision.


Notable works

* Equal Ground provided disaster relief to its community and others when the
2004 tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
hit Sri Lanka leaving many deaths and homelessness. *
Colombo Pride Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo met ...
is the only annual Pride celebration in Sri Lanka, and is organized by Equal Ground since 2005. The first ever event was attended by around 350 people. The newspaper ''
Ceylon Today ''Ceylon Today'' is an English language Sri Lankan daily newspaper published by Ceylon Newspapers (Private) Limited. It was founded in 2011 and is published from Colombo. Its sister newspaper is the ''Mawbima''. Ceylon Newspapers (Private) Limited ...
'' describes it as a week-long joyous celebration with a variety of events full of color, music and diversity. * Equal Ground launched its first publication "Human, Right?" in 2005 to celebrate the
International Day against Homophobia International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By ...
(IDAHOT). The publication located
LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
rights within the larger framework of human rights and appealed for the importance of LGBTQ rights as a part of human rights. * ''Rainbow News'', which is published quarterly by Equal Ground is the Sri Lanka's only LGBT publication. * The annual South Asian Lesbian and Bisexual Women's Conference and Training was supported by Equal Ground in the years of 2010 and 2011. * The organization launched its "I Might be Transgender: a booklet for transgender youth" at the 2014 IDAHOT conference that took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It also released the documentary "The Invisible Stain" at the same occasion. * Equal Ground working in collaboration with the
Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation (commonly known as "Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation" or KHRF) is a non-governmental organisation based in Australia that works to protect the rights of LGBTIQ+ people in the Asia Pacific region. Objecti ...
, a group that promotes equal rights for LGBT people in Asia Pacific region, submitted an alternative human rights report on "Sri Lanka's protection of the rights of LGBTI Persons" to the
United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...
in September 2014.


Achievements and recognition

Following Equal Ground and Kaleidoscope Australia's 2014 shadow report on LGBT rights in Sri Lanka that was submitted to the United Nations Humans Rights Committee, the government representatives from Sri Lanka admitted to the committee for the first time that the human rights of LGBT people were protected under the country's anti-discrimination laws. LGBT rights activists and the community widely welcomed this as a small change in the positive direction. In 2012
Women Deliver Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization that works to generate political commitment and financial investment for fulfilling Millennium Development Goal 5, which is improving maternal health. This is a multifactorial approach, involving acce ...
identified Equal Ground as one of the fifty most influential groups around the world that provides services to women. Women deliver appreciated and congratulated Equal Ground for its work towards leadership and empowerment of women.


See also

*
LGBT history in Sri Lanka Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, which dates from the time of colonial British Ceylon, criminalizes sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature". This has been ruled unenforceable by the Supreme Court, but the court does not have t ...


References

{{reflist Human rights organisations based in Sri Lanka LGBT political advocacy groups in Sri Lanka 2004 establishments in Sri Lanka LGBT rights in Sri Lanka Organizations established in 2004