Within the scope of the LGBTI+ in Freedom from Exploitation LIFE Project, funded by the European Union under the “Together Against Trafficking in Human Beings” Grant Scheme and implemented by the Queer Cyprus Association in cooperation with KAOS-GL, an awareness-raising campaign called My Right started with 5 billboards in different areas, a series of social media posts and awareness-raising video.
My Right campaign focuses on 6 different thematic areas where LGBTI+s commonly faces discrimination and marginalisation: family, education, employment. housing, health and life. The campaign has been designed based on the findings of reports the Queer Cyprus Association implemented in the last couple of months and aims to create a dialogue on systematic human rights violations that LGBTI+s face in the northern part of Cyprus. As part of this campaign to increase the visibility of LGBTI+s, who are pushed aside in the society, and to build safe spaces, the billboard in the Trikomo/Iskele region was vandalised.
It is unacceptable to sabotage such awareness-raising campaigns, which are an important step in creating a future where we can live in social peace with our diversity. We would like to share with the public that we condemn these kinds of vandalism to billboards and as the Queer Cyprus Association, we will continue our struggle to strengthen LGBTI+’s access to human rights and to create safer spaces. “Despite humiliation, stigmatization, hate speech and marginalization imposed on us, we are here as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and pluses. We are in all areas of your daily life. We all have the right to live in freedom. Until the face of the earth is coloured with love. Despite the hate, up with life.”