GENDER & SEXUALITY

Context

Gender identity and sexual orientation profoundly shape access to health, safety, and opportunity. It determines how individuals live their lives, their well-being, and access to services. But mainstream systems continue to neglect, stigmatize, or exclude LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, and gender-diverse people.

How We Do This Work

We challenge systemic bias through:

Gender-transformative research and advocacy
Community-led movement-building and support systems
Strategic partnerships for change with, policy actors, and communities
Program design that integrates gender into every layer, from diagnostics to delivery

Why It Matters

Whether it’s in HIV care, mental health, or education, failing to center gender and sexuality leads to exclusion. Our work advances inclusion by putting the lived experiences of the marginalized at the core of system reform.

Case Study

Advocating for Gender-Responsive TB Care

Mainstream TB care in India often overlooks the gendered barriers that women, queer individuals, and gender-diverse people face, from delayed diagnosis to stigma within health systems. We’ve worked with patient advocates, researchers, and media to spotlight these inequities and push for systemic reform. Our advocacy has focused on generating evidence from lived experiences, amplifying patient voices, and engaging policymakers through multimedia storytelling. By centering gender in TB narratives and health system redesign, we’ve helped position equity, not just access, as a core principle in TB care delivery.

This work continues to build momentum through cross-sector partnerships and public-facing campaigns that call for care models that are inclusive, affirming, and just.