Programmes

Supporting and Empowering LGBTIQ+ community

Providing support, informing and empowering the LGBTIQ+ community is one of the main LORI goals. We have recognised the importance of working in this field since our foundation and have organised multiple activities, projects and campaigns serving that cause.

Programme consists of two areas:

Social events

We regularly organise various social gatherings, aimed to empower and connect the community in a safe and supportive environment: Queer-UP! Party, Queer walks, Queer karaoke, film screenings, educative and creative workshops, etc.

Psychosocial support

The goal is to ensure psychosocial services for LGBTIQ+ persons, to increase their empowerment and to better their mental health. The support includes free legal aid, as well as free and anonymous testing for HIV and syphilis during European Testing Week. Additionally, psychosocial support is aimed towards informing and sensitising professionals about specific aspects of providing services to LGBTIQ+ persons in the field of mental health.

Psychosocial support includes:

Combatting discrimination and advancing the rights of LGBTI persons

LORI program Combatting discrimination and advancing the rights of LGBTI persons goals are: to eliminate/combat discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in various areas of life: in hiring and at the workplace, in educational system, in the family, while accessing services etc., as well as to provide protection and to advance the rights of LGBTI persons. The programme includes informing, sensitising and educating various professionals (teachers, psychologists, police officers...), employers and others, along with providing information through publications such as: Guidelines for combatting homophobia and transphobia and peer violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, Yogyakarta Principles or Workplace Equality Index. LORI also informs the public by organising campaigns, panel discussions and other public events to raise public awareness about the importance of these topics and to sensitise the public for a greater understanding and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ persons, while reducing prejudice and stereotypes.

We regularly monitor the position of human rights of LGBTI persons in Croatia and contribute to annual reports for several national and international institutions. An important part of the programme is advocating changes in public policies, as well as continuously public reacting to hate speech and hate crimes. Adding to that, we provide free legal aid for LGBTIQ+ persons.

Some programme activities are accomplished through projects, for instance: LGBTIQ+ Work Equality Alliance, Supporting Inclusive Education - Building a Safe Future or Respect Human Rights – Build Inclusive Society.

Within this programme, LORI also marks important dates relevant for rights of women and LGBTIQ+ persons, for instance: International day against homophobia, biphobia, interphobia and transphobia (IDAHOBIT, May 17th), International Women's Day (March 8th), etc.

Although the programme focuses on combating discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ+ persons, it also includes a fight against sexism, misogyny, racism, fascism and activities aimed at the protection of women’s and reproductive rights.

Combatting Homophobia/biphobia and transphobia in educational system

Spolna orijentacija i/ili rodni identitet osnova su diskriminacije, društvene stigmatizacije i marginalizacije na brojnim područjima pa tako i u sustavu obrazovanja. U hrvatskim školama vidljivi su različiti oblici homofobije, bifobije i transfobije uz zabrinjavajuću prisutnost vršnjačkog nasilja i zlostavljanja na osnovi spolne orijentacije i/ili rodnog identiteta. Nasilničko ponašanje ostavlja neposredne, ali i dugoročne posljedice na psihosocijalno zdravlje mladih ljudi koji su ga proživjeli, kao i na njihov uspjeh u školovanju te osobni i profesionalni život. Nasilju nad LGBTIQ+ mladima treba pristupiti kao kompleksnom društvenom problemu, kojeg se može riješiti strateškim pristupom te preuzimanjem odgovornosti svih društvenih i institucionalnih aktera koji u konačnici mogu doprinijeti stvaranju održivog, prihvaćenog i učinkovitog načina nošenja države i društva s prepoznatim problemom.

Osnovni cilj ovog programa udruge LORI je smanjenje homofobije, bifobije i transfobije te vršnjačkog zlostavljanja na osnovu seksualne orijentacije i/ili rodnog identiteta i izražavanja u sustavu obrazovanja, kao i zaštita ljudskih prava te pružanje podrške LGBTIQ+ mladima. Program se provodi od 2012. godine, kroz provedbu različitih projekata i aktivnosti, a neke od glavnih aktivnosti koje se provode u okviru programa su:

edukacija učenika i učenica osnovnih i srednjih škola u svrhu prevencije vršnjačkog nasilja na osnovu seksualne orijentacije i rodnog identiteta i izražavanja.
edukacija nastavnika/ica i stručnih suradnika/ica osnovnih i srednjih škola o LGBTI temama
izdavanje i distribucija publikacija za djelatnike/ice škola te mlade:

Priručnik za nastavnike/ice i stručne suradnike/ice o vršnjačkom nasilju i zlostavljanju nad LGBTIQ učenicima/icama
Guidelines for combatting homophobia and transphobia and peer violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools
Brošura za mlade “Šalji dalje” u svrhu povećanja prihvaćanja LGBTIQ vršnjaka/kinja i suzbijanja homo/bi/transfobije i nasilje/zlostavljanja na osnovu seksualne orijentacije i/ili rodnog identiteta i izražavanja
Suzbijanje nasilja i zlostavljanja LGBT mladih u odgojno - obrazovnim ustanovama
Digital resources

Education on LGBTIQ+ topics and gender equality

Udruga LORI od 2001. godine ima razvijen edukativni rad u domeni LGBTI ljudskih prava, rodne ravnopravnosti i povezanih tema, a ovaj je program usmjeren predstavnicima i predstavnicama institucija za suzbijanje diskriminacije i ministarstava, poslodavcima, policijskim službenicima i službenicama, te različitim stručnjacima i stručnjakinjama u području zdravlja, obrazovanja i civilnog sektora. Način obrade tema može uključivati grupni rad ili individualni pristup, ovisno o potrebama sudionika i sudionica uz provođenje radionica, predavanja i vježbi kao važnog djela iskustvenog oblika učenja. Aktivnosti programa obuhvaćaju održavanje edukacija, seminara i treninga, provođenje predavanja na fakultetima, mentoriranje studenata i studentica, te kreiranje edukativnih materijala poput udžbenika, publikacija i brošura.

Udruga LORI je do sada održala niz edukacija, treninga, radionica i predavanja poput edukacije policijskih službenika o zločinima iz mržnja protiv LGBTIQ osoba, treninga o LGBTIQ+ temama za stručnjake/kinje iz područja mentalnog zdravlja, radionice o ravnopravnosti spolova za zaposlenike/ice i volontere/ke Gradskog društva Crvenog križa Biograd na moru, te predavanja u sklopu sveučilišnog kolegija „Rod, seksualnost, identiteti – od opresije do ravnopravnosti“.

Ciljevi programa:

Informiranje o osnovnim pojmovima u domeni LGBTIQ tema i rodne ravnopravnosti
Informiranje i razvijanje znanja o osnovnim konceptima koji se naslanjaju na područje ljudskih prava, LGBTI ljudskih prava i ženskih prava
Upoznavanje s postojećim zakonskim okvirima u području ljudskih prava
Upoznavanje s relevantnim dokumentima na nacionalnoj razini i međunarodnoj razini za zaštitu od diskriminacije i nasilja
Razvijanje znanja o LGBTIQ temama za specifična područja znanja (zdravstveni djelatnici i djelatnice, psiholozi i psihologinje, socijalni radnici i radnice, itd.)
Stvaranje pozitivnog i uključivog okruženja za LGBTIQ osobe
Smanjenje stigmatizacije i predrasuda prema LGBTIQ osobama

Queer and feminist culture

As promoting queer and feminist culture is among LORI strategic goals, one of our key programs is - Queer and feminist culture.

Since our beginnings, LORI has been working with the intention of bringing queer and feminist culture closer to the local community (primarily), in terms of both the general public - in the matter of informing the public, and LGBTIQ+ community, with the aim of empowering it.

The problem of (in)visibility and marginalisation of queer and feminist culture in Croatia, as well as the variety of cultural contents through which LORI has introduced the concepts of queer and feminism to the general public, along with collaborations we created, you can check out here.

Within this programme, LORI has been organising cultural and artistic events since the early 2000s, independently and/or in cooperation with other associations, institutions and prominent artists, both from Croatia and abroad.

Some of the contents through which LORI introduces queer and feminist culture to the public are: exhibitions, theatre plays, literary evenings, film screenings, and Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture Smoqua.

More about Smoqua, its history and previous festival editions check out here.