An LGBTQ rights group in Kenya has introduced a virtual legal aid platform that allows lawyers to provide pro bono services to LGBTQ people remotely.
The Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation, which announced the online LGBTQ+ legal aid clinic platform, attributes the move to lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the widespread use of online meetings.
“We believe the LGBTQ+ Online Legal Clinic is the first of its kind in Kenya to provide free legal advice services directly to the LGBTQ community,” CMRSL said. state.
The online legal aid clinics, which connect CMRSL advocates with queer people via Zoom, Google and other virtual platforms, are an extension of the organization’s physical legal aid clinics, which launched in 2020 to consolidate the pro bono legal services of volunteer lawyers that have been offered since 2007.
The organization appreciates the Canadian government’s financial support for the establishment of two legal aid clinics.
CMRSL advocate Michael Kioko told the Washington Blade that the group first thought about introducing an online legal aid clinic for the gay community during COVID-19, when authorities were restricting movement to combat the virus.
“We realised we could reach people in far-flung parts of the country, like Kakuma refugee camp, where we have been helping LGBTQ refugees. We also realised we could work with more volunteer helpers across the country,” Kioko said.
The organization has about 20 volunteer advocates who are trained in LGBTQ issues and able to cater to gay clients.
CMRSL’s brick-and-mortar and online legal aid clinics have served more than 1,000 queer clients since 2020. Kioko said CMRSL accepts more than 40 cases per month through its online platform.
“The most common cases we receive are evictions from homes, physical assaults and verbal abuse due to homophobic discrimination, especially in Mombasa and Lamu,” Kioko said.
Other cases CMRSL activists handle for the queer community include name changes for transgender women, child custody cases for bisexual women, disputes between lesbian or bisexual partners, and working to ensure that witnesses to assaults on queer people stay with them until the perpetrator is convicted.
“We have also handled criminal defence cases in which LGBTQ people have been charged in court, including two involving transgender women (one in Lamoureux was acquitted), four involving gay men (two were dropped) and four cases involving bisexual women in civil cases in the Children’s Court,” Kioko said.
LGBTQ rights groups also filed two petitions in the Court of Appeals challenging the country’s anti-gay laws.
“We also plan to set up a legal advice desk this year to handle cases that require long-term efforts,” Kioko said.
The organization provides free legal assistance through physical and virtual clinics and hosts public forums to educate the LGBTQ community about seeking justice.
But CMRSL is open to anyone who is LGBTQ. demand You can avail this service by filling out a legal aid form and stating that you are not under 18. It will take at least three days for lawyers to conduct virtual consultations with potential clients and, if necessary, refer them to a nearby legal aid centre for physical assistance.
The organization also limits legal assistance to individual matters, such as criminal cases, family, employment, extortion, assault, and cases of discrimination based on sexual or gender identity or expression.
CMRSL states that it “does not provide advice to companies or in relation to business transactions unless the advice sought relates to issues arising from an individual’s SOGIE.”
CMRSL also does not provide legal advice regarding financial matters, including investing, selling or purchasing real estate or other assets, unless assistance is being sought regarding issues related to LGBTQ identity.
Kioko noted that the introduction of online legal aid clinics has been effective in helping the CMRSL handle many issues almost simultaneously, and called on the LGBTQ community to embrace the virtual platform.
“The platform is more flexible and convenient for both lawyers and clients,” he said, “and it’s also more private and secure for clients compared to a brick-and-mortar law firm, which has privacy risks such as homophobic stigma.”
In line with its values ​​and strict data protection policies, CMRSL ensures that all information submitted or collected by LGBTQ clients is treated with the utmost confidentiality.
Kioko noted that the lack of smartphones and sometimes network connectivity for LGBTQ people living in remote areas to access the internet is a major challenge for some LGBTQ people to use the virtual legal services. Lawyers and LGBTQ people can consult with CMRSL over the phone if their clients do not have smartphones.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
