Intersectionality in Policy and Advocacy Work

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TL;DR

Actively notice whose experiences are represented or left out. Discussions in most political spaces disproportionally reflect the realities of the most privileged experiences. To change that, we have to deliberately and actively think about whose realities are prioritised and whose are ignored, and why it is so. 

Question your own political priorities. Reflect on whose issues are addressed by the positions you take in your advocacy work and whose issues are left unaddressed. Ask yourself: whose issues are we prioritising in our work? whose needs are we not taking into consideration? And how can we go about learning about what we don’t know and don’t see. 

Be aware of the privileges attached to your own political position. Think about what is your organisation’s own access to power, influence and resources. How can you use your own privileges to expand access for others? And, what does your own positionality mean in terms of your role in advocacy. Are you always best placed to advocate with policy-makers and politicians? Who should be part of political debates and policy discussions with or instead of you?

Connect with other social justice movements. Working with other organisations helps raise awareness of how other issues impact LGBTI communities and contributes to situating LGBTI lives and struggles within and alongside other movements for social justice and human rights

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