Our Partners
North Caucasus SOS (NC SOS)
NC SOS helps LGBTQ+ individuals escape from the republics of the North Caucasus, where they face discrimination, violence, and life-threatening danger. We provide safe housing, legal, financial, medical, and psychological assistance.
In addition to direct beneficiary support, NC SOS conducts documentation and monitoring, engages in litigation and advocacy, and raises awareness of human rights violations in the region. Our goal is to foster accountability for SOGIE-based torture and inhumane treatment in the North Caucasus, ensuring that such abuses never continue with impunity.
In 2023, Russia designated NC SOS a “foreign agent.”
Human rights Group “Marem”
The “Marem” team was formed in June 2020 to support women of the North Caucasus. Every member of the team is a woman who was either born in and lives in the region or has worked there for an extended period. They named the group in memory of Marem Aliyeva, whose short life embodied the horrors of discrimination against women in the North Caucasus. They provide legal and psychological support to women, and if necessary, they evacuate them to a safe place.
All legal assistance is provided free of charge. The first two sessions with psychologists are also free.
When they cannot handle a case on their own, they reach out to partner organizations.
Queer Women in the North Caucasus
A group of women from all over the world that help queer women of North Caucasus to avoid and/or free themselves from violence. We help women to fight for their right to be free and independent.
Rainbow Railroad
In the spirit of the Underground Railroad, Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad’s mission is to help persecuted LGBTQI individuals get to safety as they seek a safe haven from state-enabled harassment and violence. Rainbow Railroad was founded in 2006 to provide an additional solution to address the global refugee crisis, to which LGBTQI persons are uniquely vulnerable. Rainbow Railroad provides support to LGBTQI individuals — including victims of the anti-gay pogrom in Chechnya — seeking safety with airfare and financial support that facilitates departure, travel, arrival and referral for settlement. Beyond direct financial assistance, Rainbow Railroad provides information, resources and advice for asylum claimants.
The Council for Global Equality
The Council for Global Equality (CGE) is a coalition of more than 30 prominent U.S.-based organizations, each standing separately at the intersection of human rights and LGBTI equality in the United States and overseas. This unique collaboration joins the respective expertise and positioning of LGBTI and non-LGBTI human rights advocates; domestic and foreign policy and development specialists; religious voices; and gender and sexual rights and health specialists. Together CGE is a recognized foreign policy organization in Washington and an anchor organization for the LGBTI movement. CGE is the leading organization working with U.S. foreign affairs agencies to apply sanctions policies to the Chechen officials responsible for human rights abuses targeting LGBTI Chechens, as well as to ensure that other foreign policy tools have been used to condemn and investigate these crimes. CGE also actively advocates for immigration reforms in Congress and with federal agencies to ensure that LGBTI refugees and immigrants can access safety in the U.S.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works world-wide to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. HRW scrupulously investigates abuses, exposes the facts widely, and pressures those with power to respect rights and secure justice. In 2017, HRW was the first human rights organization to confirm that a vicious anti-gay purge was on-going in Chechnya and documented the purge in a detailed research-based report. HRW has been at the forefront of the international effort to stop violence and other abuses against LGBT people in Chechnya. The organization also helped some of the survivors find refuge in safe countries. In spring 2019, HRW published a follow up report on a new wave of anti-gay persecutions in Chechnya.
Hornet
Hornet, the world's gay social network, has been partnering with organizations worldwide since the anti-LGBTQ human rights violations in Chechnya were first reported in 2017. They have worked with the UN to make Hornet members aware of anti-LGBTQ policies worldwide — including criminalization, to provide tips to keep them safe while traveling, and to guide them in how to report human rights violations. They have repeatedly supported the Russian LGBT Network to build awareness of the anti-gay purge in Chechnya and have worked with the Network and ILGA Europe to assist LGBTQ people still in Chechnya to access information and resources. They promoted the release of WELCOME TO CHECHNYA in Russia to help Hornet members access the film for free. In 2021, Hornet produced a detailed timeline of what has happened to try to bring an end to the atrocities and save lives since the anti-gay purge was first exposed four years earlier.
qaravan
qaravan (formerly RUSA LGBTQ+) is a New York City community-based nonprofit organization of Eurasian LGBTQ+ people, women, and other people with intersectional identities and their allies. In solidarity with other grassroots groups, qaravan builds the power of people to change unjust policies, discriminatory societal attitudes, and oppressive ideologies to create a more equitable world.
LGBT World Beside
LGBT World Beside is a European-based organization founded by refugees who survived persecution of LGBTQI people in Chechnya. Our mission is to assist LGBTQI people from Russia and other former Soviet republics to escape the persecution and help them find a new home in the European Union. LGBT World Beside helps in resettling newly-arrived refugees, organizes information sessions to foster assimilation in a new home, connects refugees with lawyers and local NGOs to receive legal and mental support, and works closely with the European Parliament to advance their cases. LGBT World Beside monitors persecution of LGBTQI people in the region and helps those who have applied for asylum in the free world.
OutRight Action International
OutRight Action International has been fighting since 1990 to eradicate the persecution, inequality and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people face around the world. We partner directly with human rights defenders, allies and organizations to produce reliable data on the experiences of LGBTIQ people around the world and support research-based advocacy and capacity-building for LGBTIQ rights. OutRight has offices in 7 countries and OutRight has recognized consultative status at the United Nations, where it forms the secretariat of the UN LGBTI Core Group.
GLAAD
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.
Human Rights Campaign
In the years since the world first learned about the horrific anti-LGBTQ atrocities taking place in Chechnya, HRC members have taken action to help put an end to the human rights violations. From working with Congress to activating their membership and raising up our voices together, HRC has sent a clear message that they have our #EyesOnChechnya, the human rights violations must stop, the perpetrators must be held accountable, and the international community must recognize that this is a crime against humanity. The #EyesOnChechnya campaign is a partnership of the Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights First.