30 July 2020 - 15 December 2020
Safer Homes for LGBTIQ People Campaign
Join the movement. Let’s create safer spaces for our LGBTIQ community to break the silence. Read on and share your home experiences, challenges, lessons learned!
UN entities involved in this initiative
OHCHR, UN, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCOSustainable Development Goals
Contact information
oneuncomms@gmail.comLocation
About the initiative
What does a safe home mean to you? We all deserve a safe home, but for some of us, home is not always such a happy place. Many LGBTIQ persons face higher risks of domestic violence, stigma and discrimination. During times of lockdown and quarantine, these issues have been exacerbated by social isolation and a lack of access to support groups.
The "Safer Home for LGBTIQ People'' social media campaign by the UN in Viet Nam aims to promote supportive and safe home environments for all. Believing in the power of stories of courage, support, and resilience, the campaign wants to give space for LGBTIQ people to:
- say what they want to their loved ones
- help others facing similar challenges
- help build stronger relationships between LGBTIQ people and their family and friends.
Join the movement. Let’s create safer spaces for our LGBTIQ community to break the silence. Read on and share your home experiences, challenges, lessons learned!
Why do we need safer homes for LGBTIQ people?
The red alert for COVID-19 has been switched off in Viet Nam. However, the crisis has exposed a serious issue for many LGBTIQ people: a safe home. LGBTIQ people may not find safety and comfort at home easily. Findings show that LGBTIQ people often experience their parents seeing them as a ‘shame’ for the family and making their parents ‘lose face’. LGBTIQ people can be forced to change their appearance and gestures against their will. A national survey(1) showed that a majority of respondents suffered verbal pressure, with others being held at home, and even facing assaults.
ISEE's initial findings(2) on the impact of COVID-19 among 923 Vietnamese LGBT reported that conflicts in the family (including being scolded, lack of interaction ...) are more likely to increase in younger LGBTIQ and transgender women. In addition, 36% of respondents with a secure job experienced income cuts/decreases, and 25.3% working as part-time employees have to temporarily stay home without any income. These issues have been exacerbated and combined with social isolation and disconnection from peers and support groups.
As part of efforts towards creating safer homes for all, the UN of Viet Nam is going to launch a social media campaign, "Safer Home for LGBTIQ People" in the upcoming Viet Nam Pride month (September 2020).
The UN in Viet Nam would like to work together with you to help to create safer homes for all by offering a way for LGBTIQ friends and their family members to better connect – through Letters & Stories.
What is the campaign about?
The "Safer Home for LGBTIQ People'' campaign focuses on supportive and safe environments at home, with an emphasis on powerful stories of courage, support and resilience. The campaign wants to give space for LGBTIQ people to:
- say what they want to their loved ones
- help others facing similar challenges
- help build stronger relationships between LGBTIQ people and their family and friends.
By sharing experiences from all walks of life, the campaign hopes to offer ideas and inspiration to LGBTIQ people, their families and their friends. Breaking the silence, together, we can help to make home a safe space for everyone.
How can you contribute?
We are calling on everyone to join the movement and help create safer homes for LGBTIQ people to break the silence. We invite YOU to share what a safe home means to you through photos or videos. Collected photos and videos will be combined into a video and published on the UN in Viet Nam Facebook Page. Each contributors' identity and personal information will be protected.
📢 If you would like to submit videos, you can choose either to:
- Film yourself, or with your family/ friends answering ‘A safe home is …”
- Film something/ someone in your home that reflects your answer to ‘A safe home is …”
📢 If you would like to submit photos:
- Write the phrase ‘A safe home is….” with your answer, plus any relevant hashtags you’d like on a card
- Use your camera phone in landscape mode. Take a photo of you, or with your family/ friends with the card OR take photos of any relevant objects at home with the card
Your video and/or photo should be:
- In landscape mode
- Taken with ample lighting and the phone camera is held up straight
- (For video) No longer than 2 minutes in length
Upload your photos and videos to the google form: https://forms.gle/kQuTytRjDJvoBCu99 or send email to oneuncomms@gmail.com
Your voices matter! By sharing our ideas of a safe home, we show our determination to make change and strive for safer homes for all! Join the movement. Let’s break the silence and create safer spaces for our LGBTIQ people.
