To better understand the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) needs of Deaf LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, Bahaghari Center for SOGIE Research, Education and Advocacy, Inc. met with Deaf community members in Iloilo City.

This is part of the #SavingHands initiative of Bahaghari Center to better understand SRHR issues faced by Deaf LGBTQIA Filipinos, and then co-develop solutions to deal with these issues.

“Persons with disabilities, including Deaf people, have the same sexual and reproductive health and rights as everyone else,” said Aaron Moises C. Bonete, co-executive director of Bahaghari Center. “But many still face barriers not because of their disabilities but because of society’s attitudes, inaccessible systems, and the lack of information in the languages they use.”

#SavingHands, Bonete added, “helps inform our programs by grounding them in the lived contexts of Deaf LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, and highlighting the barriers that continue to limit their access to SRHR.”

“Talking with Deaf LGBTQIA+ Filipinos from different provinces is essential because their needs are shaped by their local environments,” added Bahaghari Center co-director Mx Disney Aguila. “Context changes from place to place, and so do the barriers. Listening is how we create SRHR programs that respond to their realities.”

Facilitating the discussions with Deaf LGBTQIA+ Filipinos is Michael David dela Cruz Tan, MDC, founder of Bahaghari Center and editor in chief of Outrage Magazine, the only publication exclusively for the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines.

#SavingHands is supported by Mujer-LGBT Organization.