Comprised of five lesbian networks, this new network is striving to improve the lives of lesbians around the world
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY PEXELS
Earlier this year, on International Lesbian Day, five lesbian feminist networks from around the world came together to launch their Global Lesbian* Coalition (GL*C). Today (12 November), this new network came together to officially launch this groundbreaking new initiative at the ILGA World Conference.Â
Together, The Asia Feminist LBQ Network (AFLN), The Central Asian Feminist LBQT Network Anora (Anora Network), The EuroCentralAsian Lesbian Community (EL*C), The Network of Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LESLAC), The Southern African Diversity Community LBQ Network (SADC) have joined forces to advocate and amplify the pressing need for lesbian rights globally.
Silvia Casalino from EL*C told DIVA: “The main reason we started the Global Lesbian* Coalition is while lesbian activists are always in the middle of progressing human rights globally, political activism, peace and ecological movements, in the LGBTQIA movements and feminism movements we were never represented. When we tried to fight for our own rights there was nobody around. We needed to have a specific network to coordinate fundraising, advocacy and community organising for our own rights.”
The GL*C has already become a prominent force in advocating for lesbian rights on an international scale. In early 2024, the coalition took part in the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York, highlighting the socio-economic challenges created by anti-gender movements and their harmful impact on lesbian, bisexual, and queer communities.
In July 2024, GL*C activists from all regions also converged in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to support the country’s first Lesbian Kyryltay, a groundbreaking event for local lesbian visibility and rights that was organised in October by a Kazakh lesbian organisation, Feminita. Their work will continue in Rome in April 2025, as GL*C members join the EL*C conference to advocate for lesbian rights in Italy, followed by a trip to Latin America to confront issues like violence, lesbicide, and governmental neglect.
The GL*C’s dedication to raising awareness and empowering lesbian activists marks a new era in global lesbian advocacy, fostering stronger networks and amplifying voices in regions facing severe challenges to lesbian rights.
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