Strategic Engagements and Systems Advocacy
At Pahal Foundation, we understand that sustainable change for gender and sexual minority (GSM) communities requires not only grassroots empowerment but also strategic engagement with systems of power and influence. Our Strategic Engagements initiative is focused on creating an enabling and accountable environment by building partnerships with key stakeholders across sectors.
Through this approach, we aim to address stigma, discrimination, and systemic barriers by sensitizing institutions and fostering collaborative efforts that advance the rights, dignity, and inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons.
Key Areas of Engagement
1. Law Enforcement Agencies
We regularly conduct sensitization sessions and dialogues with police personnel to address biases, improve community-police relationships, and promote respectful and rights-based responses to complaints involving GSM individuals. These engagements focus on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, gender sensitivity, and access to legal protections.
2. Medical and Mental Health Fraternity
We collaborate with public and private healthcare professionals to ensure non-discriminatory, gender-affirmative, and inclusive healthcare practices. Our sensitization workshops help doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff better understand the needs of transgender and queer individuals in clinical and mental health settings.
3. Legal Systems: SALSA & DLSA
In partnership with the State Legal Services Authority (SALSA) and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), we conduct awareness sessions on legal rights, access to justice, and free legal aid provisions for GSM individuals. We also facilitate legal aid camps, grievance redressal mechanisms, and linkages with legal aid lawyers for cases of discrimination, violence, or denial of services.
4. Media Engagement
We engage with local and national media to promote accurate, respectful, and empowering representation of LGBTQ+ communities. Our goal is to shift public narratives, challenge stereotypes, and foster responsible journalism that reflects the lived realities of GSM persons.
5. Engagement with District Administration & Collectorate Offices
We work closely with local administrative bodies, including the Office of the Collectorate, to raise concerns related to social welfare, identity documentation, health entitlements, and policy implementation. These engagements help bridge the gap between GSM communities and state mechanisms, ensuring access to government schemes and grievance redressal.
Our Approach
- Capacity Building of Institutions through workshops, consultations, and exposure visits
- Multi-stakeholder Dialogues for intersectional understanding and collaborative solutions
- Policy Advocacy for inclusive practices and systemic reform
- Community-Led Advocacy to amplify voices of lived experience in institutional spaces
Through these strategic engagements, Pahal Foundation seeks to foster a society where institutions are not only sensitized but actively inclusive—ensuring dignity, justice, and equal opportunities for all.