Grantee Project
For years sexual minorities in Uganda have been targeted by a wide range of elements in government and greater civil society, thereby limiting the ability of these groups to fully enjoy freedom of association and expression. These elements have targeted the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual/Transgender, and Intersexed (LGBTI) and sex worker communities in Uganda, leaking documents to law enforcement, and shutting down community meetings and other events. The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, passed by the Ugandan parliament at the end of 2013, sentences LGBTI to life-long imprisonment and prohibits LGBTI meetings and other forms of organising. The passage of this law and the realisation that the Internet offers the most viable option for the community to take action against the Act has spurred activists to work towards strengthening and securing online communications. It is integral for activists to act swiftly, before the Act becomes law and online activism will be key to success on this front.
The Web We Want grant enabled iFreedom Uganda to run a digital security training geared towards equipping individuals and organisations with the tools and knowledge needed to work together to further promote and ensure the expansion of civil rights and Internet freedom for all. iFreedom Uganda wanted to proactively counteract threats to human rights and Internet freedom in Uganda, particularly for those individuals within the LGBTI and sex worker communities. As a result, a training was organised with 28 LGBT community leaders. The one-day training included training on email encryption with Thunderbird, anonymous browsing with Tor, secure instant messaging with Pidgn, OTR and general online safety and secure data storage with True Crypt, and whole disk encryption with the use of Bit Locker. This ultimately strengthened and helped secure online communications for campaigners in the LGBTI rights movement and also helped secure the valuable data that has helped shape the movement over the years.
Contact: executivedir@ifreedomuganda.net
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