ILGA Asia and Stonewall launch Safar, an innovative tool to support LGBTIQ people at serious risk

More than one year since they seized power, the Taliban has been intensifying attacks against the basic autonomy and human rights of LGBTIQ Afghans. Persecution in the form of death threats, harassment, extortion, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence and killings is forcing LGBTIQ individuals to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere, forcibly displacing LGBTIQ people and other vulnerable groups. These harsh realities underscore the necessity for more robust and secure responses from governments and civil society to mounting crises that are not going away anytime soon.

Since 2021, ILGA Asia and Stonewall have been working together to provide LGBTIQ people from Afghanistan with emergency humanitarian aid, with more and more seeking help daily. As part of this mandate to support LGBTIQ people at risk, ILGA Asia and Stonewall have developed Safar, a highly-secure case management tool and framework that will equip people with knowledge about their rights and options for resettlement or in-country support. This solution can transform how humanitarian actors work together to support LGBTIQ people in high-risk contexts, not just in Afghanistan but globally. Aggregated data from Safar will also provide valuable evidence which will strengthen civil society’s ability to advocate for better support options. 

“We believe that a collaborative approach is the best approach, one that takes into account the different roles we each play across the LGBTQ sector, the humanitarian sector, governments, and policy-making bodies.”

— Henry Koh, Executive Director, ILGA Asia

Safar was launched in a webinar in 2023 that involved representatives from government, civil society and intergovernmental organisations that play critical roles at various levels of regional and international humanitarian efforts. Attendees were introduced to the features of the platform and the “support journey” framework, which is a human-centred approach to support individuals at risk at various stages of their journey. It also became a forum for stakeholders representing diverse constituencies to discuss how they can cooperate and contribute to queering resettlement and humanitarian approaches in an intersectional way.

“Our commitment is to recognise the rights of LGBTIQ people, the discrimination and grave human rights abuses they face, and, in many instances the need for safe passage and protection outside of Afghanistan.”

— Leanne MacMillan, Global Director, Stonewall