E-Consultation

Policy Brief on the Impact of Stigma and Discrimination onKey Populations and Their Families

Introduction

The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), and the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) are consulting our communities about the impact of stigma and discrimination on key populations (gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), people who use drugs (PUDs), sex workers and transgender individuals) and their families.

Many key population members become or wish to become parents in their lifetime. However, widespread stigma and discrimination, compounded by criminalisation and other legal barriers, severely impedes these communities’ fundamental right to become parents and raise children, and their children’s rights to health, education, citizenship, and right to be free from discrimination and violence.

Consultation responses will inform a joint INPUD, MSMGF & NSWP Policy Brief with accompanying Community Guide.

Please return the completed questionnaires to by April 1st, 2018.

Questionnaire

We ask youor a representative of your organisation to take part in this consultation. Your participation and contributions will amplify the perspectivesand lived experiences of key populations, their families and their children around the globe.

About you/your organisation:

This information will not be used to identify any person in the Policy Brief or elsewhere, and you do not have to provide any name or your real name, or the name of anybody else you discuss.

You may complete this as an individual or group. Please reflect on and documentyour community’s experienceswhere possible.Also please note that there are no right or wrong answers.

Answers may be short, and you do not have to answer all questions.

Are you responding on behalf of an organisation?

☐ No☐ Yes

If yes:

  • Is your organisation community-led?

☐ No☐ Yes

  • Do you give permission to identify your organisation in attributing a quote from this e-consultation?

☐ No

☐ Yes | If Yes, Organisation Name: ______

  1. Country:
  1. Are you from an URBAN or RURAL area?
  1. Which communities are you from/do you work with? (check all that apply)

☐Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men

☐ Transgenderpeople

☐ People who use drugs

☐ Sex workers

☐ People living with HIV

Questions:

When responding, please include examples of community experiences and personal stories to illustrate the issue, whenever possible.

Please note that in this consultation, the term “your community” refers to thekey population/s you are part of, associatewith and/or work with. We define key populations asgay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, and transgender people – including those living with HIV.

  1. How does society perceiveparents in your community, and the ability of your community to parent?
  1. How does society perceive the children of members of your community?
  1. What are the main barriers to becoming parents and raising childrenthat members of your community face, including within healthcare systems and barriers relating to education?
  1. What are the main sources and forms of stigma and discrimination parents in your community face?Can you give examples?
  1. What are the main sources and forms of stigma and discrimination children of members of your community face? Can you give examples?
  1. Whichlawsand regulations in your country obstruct or reinforce the right of members of your community to become parents and raise children?Can you give examples of how the laws that obstruct the right to found a familyimpact onyour community’s experiences?Can you give examples of how the laws that reinforce the right to become parents and raise children impact onyour community’s experiences?
  1. What is the experience of community members who are parents, or who wish to become parents,when interacting with social workers, health care workers, and school teachers? Can you give examples?
  1. What is the experience of community members who are parents, or who wish to become parents, when engaging with law enforcement and court systems? Can you give examples?
  1. How does the stigma and discrimination associated withparents’ sex work, sexual orientation, gender identityand/or drug use impact ontheir children’slives and experiences?Can you give examples?
  1. Does stigma and discrimination result in violence towards members of your community and their families? Can you give examples?
  1. What factors make families within your community particularly vulnerable to stigma and discrimination? Do certain families and children in your community experience higher levels of stigma and discrimination? Can you explain why and give examples?
  1. Whataction or change is needed to protectmembers of your community’srightto become parents and raise children and for parents and children to be free from discrimination?
  1. Can you give examples of any work your organisation or community is undertaking in in this area?

Thank you for taking part in this consultation.