Grantee Profile: Sangama

Social taboos and criminalization have made gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals (referred to as sexual minorities) one of the most marginalized sections of Indian society. Same-sex sexual behavior is officially considered ‘against the order of nature’ and punishable by ten years in prison according to a national law (section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) imposed on India by the British in 1860.  Official criminalization coupled with social rejection creates fertile ground for human rights violations against sexual minorities. Police and criminal gangs beat, sexually abuse, and blackmail homosexual/bisexual men and transsexuals. Families also perpetrate violence, deny sexual minorities their inheritance rights and relentlessly pressure them into heterosexual marriages.  Kicked out of their homes, many sexual minorities often find sex work and begging to be the only options for income. 

Established in 1999 in Bangalore (capital of the southern state of Karnataka and one of the largest cities in India), Sangama was the first organization openly focused on sexual minority rights in India. Today, the organization works with approximately 10,000 individuals, primarily urban poor. Through persistent advocacy, activism, and dialogue, Sangama has been able to dramatically reduce police and criminal violence in Bangalore towards sexual minorities over the past seven years.

In the photo above, an estimated 200 demonstrators rally in Bangalore to demand accountability against police officers who did not take any action in the murder of Chandini, a transgender sex worker who was murdered. The perpetrator is alleged to have bribed the police to prevent an investigation.

Sangama is taking a leading role in the growing national campaign to repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes same-sex sexual behavior between consenting adults. Locally, Sangama is pressing for the city of Bangalore, India’s third most populous city, to provide universal healthcare access for people living with HIV/AIDS. 

To broaden the movement and enhance its potential for impact, Sangama has been reaching out across the country to the women’s rights movement, the health rights movement, Dalit groups, and other progressive human rights organizations to promote rights for all and to leverage technical and financial resources to promote the rights of sexual minorities. Over the past several years, Sangama has brought together the movements of sexual minorities, sex workers and people living with HIV to share ideas and experiences and to launch human rights campaigns.

In the photo above, over 2000 supporters attend a public rally and meeting in the town of Mysore to demand repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Community members publicly testified on the need to repeal the law.

Sangama has also developed a multi-faceted approach to serving the health needs of the sexual minority community. HIV/AIDS is a major concern for this population, as an estimated 19 percent of sexual minorities in Bangalore City are HIV-positive. Thus, Sangama provides health and social services—HIV prevention education, free condom distribution, community outreach, safe social spaces, treatment for sexually-transmitted infections, HIV testing and services—while simultaneously growing a movement of activists to challenge abuses that violate human rights.  For instance, Sangama partnered with sex worker rights activists and sexual minority communities to develop a common platform and rights-based approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention (approaches that target the conditions that fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS). As a result of this collaboration and activism, police violence against sex workers has reduced drastically, creating an enabling environment for condom negotiation and healthy behavior. In addition, Sangama mentors and mobilizes service delivery organizations and community organizations to work with sexual minorities and use holistic, rights-based approaches to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. Sangama’s rights-based approach has garnered significant international attention and funding from the Gates Foundation, European Union, and HIVOS.

Sangama also provides 24-hour crisis support using six mobile telephones. Crisis situations are managed by teams of activists, community supporters and a full-time lawyer. On average, the group receives twenty crisis calls per month. Calls come in the late evening from victims of police or family violence. Sangama’s trained responders give instructions to the caller on how to avoid any immediate physical harm until the responder and appropriate accompaniment can arrive. Most times, having the crisis team present is enough to protect the caller’s safety. If the responder is responding to a report of police brutality and/or detainment, a lawyer will come too. Sangama boasts an average in-person response time of thirty minutes. Sangama’s approach is recognized as one of the best models for responding to and preventing human rights violations against sexual minorities. Even the Indian government policy on AIDS recommends that all non-governmental organizations in India that work with sexual minorities emulate Sangama’s crisis intervention work.

Sangama’s Campaigns Director Manohar Elavarthi says that, when Sangama first started its crisis intervention work, some people in the community called it a ‘dangerous adventure,’ fearing it would spur backlash and increased police crackdowns. Says Manohar, “They used to think directly confronting police, families, and others who oppress sexual minorities is dangerous. We have been able to address these fears, through sustained and thoughtful interventions, involving extensive cooperation with allies and strategic use of the media and of public protest. Today, our crisis intervention work is recognized as one of the best models of responding to human rights violations against sexual minorities not only by sexual minorities themselves, but by HIV/AIDS funding agencies too.”

Sangama’s work serves as a model for other human rights and health organizations in combining legal aid, community mobilization, health education and services to prevent the transmission of HIV and reduce the stigma affecting sexual minorities.

October 2007