Mato Grosso do Sul State Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ATMS)

The mission of ATMS is to defend lesbians, gays, transvestites, and transsexuals from human rights violations in the form of discrimination and violence against their sexualities and/or gender identities, including violations committed by or in public institutions and services.

The association does advocacy work, STD/AIDS prevention, and education for human rights and citizenship, provides legal aid and orientation, promotes social control of public policies, and refers cases for management at other institutions and public agencies.

According to the Association, the State of Mato Grosso do Sul presents a contradictory situation. There is evidence of legal strides in the protection of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, and transsexual community, including passage of laws against discrimination, but these strides have not been incorporated by institutions or legitimized by public policy.

The association’s challenge is to institutionalize – in governmental and nongovernmental organizations and social movements – these sexual and reproductive rights as legitimate demands, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights to be guaranteed by the state.

The Project

Based on political capacity-building, the project Speak out: political organization and empowerment of the LGBTT movement proposes to link activists in the attempt to improve and expand the impact of these actors on public policies and local spaces, in coordinated and systematic action against discrimination in access to and participation in public policies.

The idea is to create three LGBTT centers in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul and prepare at least 80 lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals to participate in the local and regional public policy councils. In addition to the three centers, the goal is to implement a State Forum as the focal point for the State movement, with its own bylaws and an organized work agenda.

The proposal is to build and consolidate a public space with legitimacy as an interlocutor between the LGBTT community and public institutions, linked to empowerment of the organized movement and with the capacity to intervene and upgrade public policy.

Political capacity-building for LGBTT activists and leaders aims to empower key organizations and leaders to advocate for human rights in this community and to serve as independent interlocutors and networkers for effective actions and strategies.