Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya

As the national umbrella organization, GALCK made considerable gains in increasing the voice and visibility of the sexual orientation gender identity and expression (SOGIE) movement until 2011/2012. The latter period, characterized by organizational and financial management challenges, brought almost all GALCK’s regular functioning to a standstill. In 2013, in a demonstration of extraordinary resilience, the community established the GALCK Reloaded Task-force (GRT) to re-activate and restructure the Coalition and re-establish its position at the center of the Kenyan SOGIE movement. Since then, the Coalition under the stewardship of the voluntary GRT has grown from strength to strength, shedding a very positive and promising light on the future of the Kenyan SOGIE movement.

Founded in 2006, six organizations are members of GALCK:

• Ishtar MSM – seeks "full sexual health rights and social well being for men who have sex with men".[1]
• Minority Women in Action – "advocate[s] for the rights of LBTI women ... by engaging with national and international structures".[2]
• Gay Kenya Trust – seeks to be the "leading human rights advocacy organization for the attainment of a society that is inclusive and free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation".[3]
• Transgender Education and Advocacy – established in December 2008, "aims to change the public mentality towards transgender/transsexual people through awareness raising campaigns, advocating for legal and policy reforms and empowering transgender / transsexual people".[4]
• Artists for Recognition and Acceptance - seeks to "provide a platform for expression and engagement with the wider society through art and a safe haven for LBT women".[5]
• Persons Marginalized and Aggrieved (PEMA-Kenya) – formerly known as the Mombasa Brotherhood, seeks to "create, raise and promote public awareness, tolerance and acceptance of PEMA in the society".[6]

GALCK's resource centre in Nairobi opened in 2008. The centre functions as offices for the six organizations. A week before World Aids Day on 1 December 2008, GALCK mobilized 230 LGBTI people to attend voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services held at the centre. This was the first time in Kenya that VCT services specifically targeted LGBTI people. Important lessons were learned about the existing VCT policy and implementation gaps, and GALCK is working with the National AIDS Control Council (NACC),[7] in collaboration with Liverpool VCT, Care and Treatment (LVCT),[8] to address these gaps. One notable gap is that HIV prevalence among the LGBTI community was found to be 23 percent, double the previous estimate of 9.3 percent.

GALCK has built coalitions with mainstream organizations, like the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and with HIV/AIDS bodies, including LVCT and the NACC. Thanks to these relationships, GALCK was involved formally in the drafting of the National AIDS Strategic Plan for 2010-13. GALCK is also involved in the review of the National Voluntary Care and HIV Testing Form, so that information collected and counselling given during testing is reflective of the needs of the LGBTI community.

• LGBT rights in Kenya

• Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya
• Ishtar MSM
• Gay Kenya Trust
• Transgender Education and Advocacy
• Artists for Recognition and Acceptance