Educate to Empower

CAISO established the Wholeness & Justice programme in 2020 to expand access for diverse LGBTQI+ people in Trinidad & Tobago to wholeness, justice, and social services. The programme is committed to responding to violations of LGBTQI+ community members with an emphasis on trans, non-binary, gender-non-conforming, and intersex people; and to deliver clinically competent, trauma-informed interventions that enable healing and resilience.  

Two years of insights from CAISO’s Wholeness & Justice Programme affirms the need for continued investment in education and research for the LGBTQI+ community. One key finding is that family and gender-based violence continue to be significant problems for LGBTQI+ people living in Trinidad and Tobago; specifically contributing to the social and economic hardships LGBTQI+ people experience regarding housing, food, medicine, and other basic human needs. While young LGBTQI+ people are disproportionately affected by family violence, there are still no legal protections prohibiting this type of violence or offering LGBTQI+ people options for redress when they experience such targeted violence. This is also the case for discrimination in terms of employment and access to goods and services such as healthcare. Moreover, the state does not provide housing shelters for LGBTQI+ people in distress. 

Goal

Our goal is to raise awareness about the unique experiences faced by LGBTQI+ youth and their families/guardians through resource guides that foster a culture of compassion, understanding, and inclusivity rooted in facts rather than fear or myth. Grounded in evidence-based research, studies of Caribbean gender and sexuality, and intersectional analysis, these resource guides build upon education and research materials produced by CAISO’s Wholeness and Justice programme over the past two years. Our Educate to Empower campaign showcases the resource guides across various media, including online publications, support videos, and social media infographics.  

Objectives

• Empower LGBTQI+ community members – youth in particular – as well as family and guardians with helpful, relevant, science and evidence-based research and information related to LGBTQI+ issues and experiences related to diverse genders and sexualities. 
• Raise awareness and increase understanding about LGBTQI+ issues among parents/guardians/ relatives of LGBTQI+ minors, LGBTQI+ youth (18-35), educators, service providers, and the general public. 
• Promote pathways available to LGBTQI+ youth for legal redress, social justice, and mental health care and support, in the face of rising homophobia, queerphobia, and transphobia in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Project Description

This project was produced in response to the documented instances of family violence experienced by Wholeness and Justice clients and reports of the negative socio-economic impacts by LGBTQI+ community members. With this in mind, two (2) resource guides and related media which seek to empower specific target groups were developed and curated through research and insights from community engagement. These guides will serve as a knowledge pool to support relatives of LGBTQI+ people and young LGBTQI+ people to advocate for their own rights. 
 

1. Rise Together – An Empowerment Guide for Family/Guardians of LGBTQI+ Youth  

Parents and guardians have approached the programme for support with understanding their children, their perceived non-normative behaviour, or when their child’s rights were infringed upon. While the Wholeness and Justice Programme is not geared towards people under the age of 18, it channels the insights and experience gained by the Wholeness and Justice team to provide information that supports parents, guardians, and relatives with useful information and empowers them to advocate on behalf of their LGBTQI+ loved one(s). 

EN Rise Together – An Empowerment Guide for Family/Guardians of LGBTQI+ Youth
 
ES  Levantemonos Juntos – Educar para Empoderar

EN Rise Together Screen Reader Friendly Version

2. Rise Up – Empowerment Guide for LGBTQI+ Young Adults  

The Wholeness and Justice programme consistently receives complaints from (and for) young people, between the ages of 19 and 25, who have been displaced from their homes by family members who disapprove of their LGBTQI+ identity. Young LGBTQI+ people have very limited social support networks and are often unable to support themselves financially because of their previous dependence on relatives to meet their basic human needs. This resource guide contextualises the legal protections and social services available in Trinidad and Tobago as well as cover concerns that frequently arise for family members and LGBTQI+ youth. Empowering LGBTQI+ youth increase their chances of building support networks that can provide emotional support and build self-confidence. 

EN Rise Up – Empowerment Guide for LGBTQI+ Young Adults
 
ES Levántate – Educar para Empoderar

EN Rise Up Screen Reader Friendly Version