How Do We Build Solidarity That Lasts?

Last November, nearly 600 activists from 70+ countries gathered in-person and online to ask: How do we keep our movement strong when everything feels like it's falling apart?

What emerged wasn't despair — it was strategy:

• Coordinate across borders like our opponents do

• Center human stories over statistics

• Invest in LBQ communities (who currently receive just 5% of LGBTIQ funding)

• Reclaim the "pro-family" narrative on our terms

• Pass power — not just knowledge — to younger activists

The goal isn't just to survive the next funding cycle. It's to build a movement that outlasts the backlash.

U.S. Rollbacks on Intersex Rights Risk Setting a Bad Precedent Globally

U.S. lawmakers claim they're banning gender-affirming care to protect children from "irreversible harm."

But here's what they don't mention: all 28 state bans contain intersex exceptions that permit irreversible, medically unnecessary surgeries on infants who cannot consent.

Trans teenagers — who can articulate their needs and make informed decisions with their families — are denied care. Intersex babies are subjected to procedures designed to force their bodies into binary norms.

Meanwhile, Malta, Germany, Iceland, and others have moved to protect intersex children's bodily autonomy. The UN calls non-consensual surgeries human rights violations.

The U.S. is going backward. And American policies influence global standards.

“We Need People In, Not Out”: A Recap from A Global LGBTIQ Movement Roundtable

Forty activists from 14 countries shared what's actually working:

• Diversifying funding before crisis hits

• Sharing infrastructure across organizations

• Localizing language to reach broader audiences

• Building coalitions around shared values, not just shared enemies

   

These aren't theories. Activists are already putting these strategies into practice. Discover what they’ve learned and how we can use their collective knowledge to further our movement.

Help Us Reach $10 Million: Funding Our Freedom

Since January 2025, $125 million has been stripped from LGBTIQ human rights work worldwide. 

Outright lost $10 million directly, forcing us to suspend 120 grants across nearly 50 countries. Partners are laying off staff, closing programs, and shutting down community spaces just as the backlash intensifies.

We're fighting back with our Funding Our Freedom campaign — raising $10 million by June 2026 to keep frontline organizations alive and sustain the global advocacy that protects them. Half goes directly to partners facing crisis. Half powers our work in supporting and advancing the global LGBTIQ movement.

We’re halfway there, with over 150 donors pledging $5 million so far. But grassroots groups can't wait. Every dollar keeps someone safer, keeps a program running, keeps hope alive. Will you help us get there?

What Does the Science Actually Say?

Forget the political debate. Here's the evidence:

Gender-affirming care is evidence-based medicine — backed by the World Health Organization and major medical associations. For a small number of children, that might include puberty blockers — the same medications doctors have safely prescribed for over 40 years to treat early puberty.

When families, doctors, and young people make decisions together about access to care, they're following best medical practice. For some trans youth, this care saves lives.

The bans have nothing to do with medical evidence — they're about control. Politicians are overriding doctors, families, and patients themselves in a drive to restrict bodily autonomy. Discover the best practices, explore the science, and add this information to your advocacy toolkit.

LBQ Women in the Philippines: Harassed, Ignored, Silenced

Two-thirds of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in the Philippines have experienced online violence: cyberbullying, hate speech, stalking, threats.

When they report it? 66% say nothing happens.

The impact:

• 81% report anxiety and trauma

• 65% have silenced themselves online
• 60% don't even bother seeking help anymore

The Philippines has progressive laws on paper. But without enforcement, perpetrators act with impunity and LBQ women pay the price.

Heated Rivalry: Everyone Deserves Sunshine

Heated Rivalry, the new hit television series produced by Crave and distributed by HBO Max, illustrates a compelling love story between two professional hockey players — one Russian, one Canadian — navigating a secret relationship over many years. The series delivers queer tenderness and joy we rarely get to see on screen, while never letting us forget the dangers LGBTIQ people in Russia navigate every day.

Since 2012, Russia has systematically dismantled rights for LGBTIQ people —including "propaganda" bans prohibiting any public communication about the existence of LGBTIQ people or LGBTIQ issues, laws banning same-sex marriage and adoption, and a 2023 Supreme Court ruling declaring the entire LGBT movement "extremist," outlawing activism altogether.

In this op-ed for Katie Couric Media, our Director of Leadership Giving, Katie Hultquist, explores why this series matters for LGBTIQ people around the world and how we can support real-life activists fighting for freedom.

LBQ+ Women’s Economic Empowerment Program Launches

Outright International is proud to launch a new economic empowerment program for LBQ women in partnership with LesbianGlobal. As an organization rooted in and guided by LBQ leadership, with over 30 years of advancing lesbian, bisexual and queer women’s rights and visibility globally, we know that economic precarity and marginalization are not incidental — they are structural barriers that limit independence, opportunities, and safety, and that too often expose queer women to heightened risks of violence, discrimination, and exclusion. By expanding access to resources, skills, and economic opportunities, this program aims to strengthen not only individual autonomy but also community resilience. Economic empowerment for LBQ women drives innovation, builds stronger and more inclusive economies, and fosters societies where freedom from violence and discrimination is a reality, not an aspiration. Through this initiative, Outright reaffirms its long-standing commitment to uplifting LBQ communities, while contributing to more just, inclusive, and innovative societies for all. Many thanks to LesbianGlobal for their partnership and support!

From Our Partners at LesbianGlobal:
LesbianGlobal is proud to partner with Outright International to establish its first LesbianGlobal Economic Empowerment Fund implemented by Outright. The LesbianGlobal Economic Empowerment Fund at Outright invests in LBQ+ women’s organizations in the Global South because that’s where we can maximize impact and deliver the greatest social, economic, and movement-wide returns. LesbianGlobal does not view its funding as charity — it’s a strategic investment. LBQ+ women are under-resourced, not due to lack of leadership but because of systemic exclusion, yet they remain among the most capable and resilient change-makers globally. Economic empowerment is foundational to creating unique pathways to safety, autonomy, and dignity for LBQ+ women. Through the LesbianGlobal Economic Empowerment Fund at Outright International, we invest together in proven leadership ready to scale. We hope you will be inspired to join us to further increase our funding to expand economic opportunity, improve livelihoods, and long-term power for LBQ+ women — creating impact that ripples across communities and movements.

Thank you for believing every person deserves dignity, safety, and the freedom to live as themselves.

The work continues—together.

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