Lebanon is facing a wave of homophobia which very often puts the lives of LGBT + people at risk.
The Marsa association in Lebanon is the first sexual health center in the country. It offers medical and screening services for everyone. In a country where talking about sexuality is a real risk, the LGBT + community finds itself within this association to speak freely and without judgment while benefiting from support that is precious to them.
In 2017, during the Solidays festival, the association's president spoke to a crowd of festival-goers. She explained how the country is depriving the LGBT + community of their health rights: "We are deprived of our health rights and even our rights to exist." In addition, it also refers to the violence inflicted on transgender people who try, whatever the cost, to claim their civil rights. The president of the association then spoke on stage of the presence of religious groups in Lebanon trying to silence the LGBT + community. Then there are the security forces, who are probably not trying to protect them. Quite the contrary. Indeed, a few years ago, the association organized a march to fight against transphobia and homophobia in Lebanon. But the police have prohibited this important demonstration: "The police forbade us to walk instead of protecting ourselves"
Respect, the right and access to healthcare as well as living in dignity therefore remain, even today, a real struggle for the Marsa association which is under pressure from a homophobic and transphobic society. To find out more about the Marsa association and its actions, visit the Facebook page.