Long-standing anti-LGBTQ violence and harassment along the coast of Kenya, East Africa—spurred in part by pejorative messages conveyed in some places of worship—have motivated grassroots groups to build bridges between faith leaders and local LGBTQ communities.

Groups of varying sizes carried out or threatened to carry out at least six such attacks in the three coastal counties of Kilifi, Kwale, and Mombasa since 2008, according to a 2015 report by Human Rights Watch and PEMA Kenya (Pema in Kenya’s majority language, Swahili, means ‘place of solace’).

“Religion plays a very big role in influencing opinions, and even laws,” says Ishmael Bahati, executive director of PEMA Kenya, which works to advance the human rights of gender and sexual minorities in Mombasa.

“Some [religious leaders] have never had the opportunity to experience the daily reality of the LGBT person, so their actions and preaching are usually uninformed.”

Together with a small interfaith council, PEMA Kenya runs sensitization trainings that take faith leaders, followers, law enforcement agencies, and civilians through compassion-based workshops on human rights, HIV, and advocacy for protecting LGBTQ persons.

As a result of these sessions—and the publication of a workbook, Facing Our Fears—the organization has created a network of religious leaders as well as professionals within a range of occupations, including law enforcement, the judiciary, and healthcare providers in 14 public facilities, who are now able to provide LGBTQ referrals. Read more via ARCUS Foundation