In 2021 ITGNC persons continue to face serious challenges including an increasing burden of
poverty, inequalities within political and socio-economic structures, policies, access to
resources, gender-based violence, and inadequacies in provision of healthcare. This in turn
affects the ability of ITGNC persons to make decisions over their own life and future. The
hostile contexts in which they live in disempowers the community to make informed
choices.
The marginalization and binary nature of gender in Kenya has serious and far reaching
effects on persons who do not identify with and in the bracket of cisgender and
heterosexual mostly identifying as ITGNC. This is compounded by discriminatory laws, lack
of access to justice, pervasive homophobia and transphobia motivated by religious and
political rhetoric. ITGNC persons are often constructed as criminals, cursed, deviant,
immoral and devil worshipers and a shame. These persons face several layers of
marginalization owing the intersecting vulnerabilities thus rendering them at high risk of
violence, stigmatization and discrimination. As a result, the integrity of ITGNC persons is
affected. Such contexts present themselves in access to health care services where stigma
and discrimination is rampant especially with regard to SRHR and access to protection by
the Law. A practical example is usually seen through cases such as public stripping and
forced stripping during arbitrary arrests by Law enforcement.
IDAHOBIT 2021 presented a great opportunity for the ITGNC community to celebrate the
milestones and gains made by Jinsiangu and the community it respectively serves.
This year, Jinsiangu celebrated bodily autonomy and integrity of ITGNC community through
creating space for dialogue by the community on a virtual webinar on the 17th of May 2021
followed by a celebration event that included video productions which as
thus far been widely circulated on various online platforms to encourage conversation,
dialogue and a source of information on the experiences of ITGNC persons in relation to the
theme.
This conversation highlighted issues such as body
politics, body dysmorphia, shared narratives on how the community members find ways to
live within their bodies; the conversation further highlighted the social, political and legal
frameworks that both hinder and support bodily autonomy and integrity of ITGNC persons
in Kenya.
Finally, the webinar also provided space for community bonding and addressing mental
health best practices among the participants.
