Consolidation of the Kazakhstani LGBT+ people into a LGBT+ community is a big challenge. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest state in the world. It takes 54 hours to reach its easternmost point from the westernmost point by car without stops and 29 hours to get from the south to the north. The population of this huge area is only 18 million people, and the population density is 7 people per km2 (18 people per mi2).
By estimates, there are about 1.5 million LGBT+ people living in Kazakhstan now. They are spread over a wide area. The LGBT+ activists who mostly live in one of the two largest cities (Astana and Almaty) cannot reach and assist these people.
However, it is possible to let LGBT+ individuals all over Kazakhstan know that they are not alone and that there’s hope. That can only be done by spreading social media posts, articles and news on the Internet. That’s why a group of activists created the LGBT+ media outlet named Kok.team. We launched our site on the 1st of March 2017, and ever since we’ve published more than 200 original articles in Russian, 55 articles in Kazakh and 7 in English. 46 475 people visited our website over one year. This success has inspired us to make the next step.
Knockin`on Every Door
Kok.team continues to work on LGBT+ people’s consolidation. Our dream is to unite Kazakhstani gays, lesbians, bi-, trans- and other people into one LGBT-community.
Thus, it was important for Kok.team to transition from a mere media outlet into an advocacy tool. The “Tell About Your Trouble” project was started with that purpose in mind. LGBT people in Kazakhstan have no voice. In the homophobic society they often become victims of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). But they can’t call the police because of fear of shaming, blackmailing, and a new portion of violence. As a result, there is no official, reliable data about cases of violence and discrimination based on SOGI. The only available information is a limited data provided by several activist groups.
Kok.team has decided to fix this problem. The “Tell About Your Trouble” project will give every victim a chance to tell about their case. Based on the results of this monitoring, activists will prepare alternative reports on the situation in the sphere of human rights in Kazakhstan. Besides, the Kazakhstani public will finally see the real picture of how widespread homophobia is in this society.
That’s why we need your support. All authors and editors of Kok.team are volunteers. However, the project needs financing in order to spread information.
We want to share the information about the “Tell About Your Trouble” project through advertising on social media platforms, as it is the most effective was to reach as many LGBT individuals as possible. In doing so, we want to let them know that there is a chance to change the status quo.
Bring Hope to 300 People for Just $1
Be our Patron at Patreon.com. According to the Ads Manager on Facebook delivery of one post to 3000 users will cost 10$. It means that every $1 lets 300 people know about our project. We understand that only 4-7% of them belong to the LGBT family. 1$ can give voice to these people and contribute to the positive change in the lives of LGBT individuals all over Kazakhstan!
We guarantee that all the money received will be spent on promotion on Facebook and Vkontakte.ru (the largest Russian social network, which is very popular in Kazakhstan).
The campaign will start in June. In July we will begin publishing periodic reports on money spent and people reached.
Thank you!
The campaign will be started in June, in July we will begin publishing periodic reports with data on money spent and people reached on Patreon.com.
Five Fast Facts About Kazakhstan
- 0 - the number of officially registered LGBT+ NGOs
- 80 - the country’s position on the LGBT Friendliest Travel Destinations list (Spartakus Gay Guide 2018)
- 158 - the country’s position in the Ranking of countries based on the level of freedom of speech (2018 World Press Freedom Index)
- 1998 - the homosexual conduct was decriminalized
- 1.5 million - an approximate number of LGBT+ individuals living in Kazakhstan
Rewards
$1 equals to about 400 tenge (Kazakh currency). In Kazakhstan you can buy a bottle of milk or 2 Wrigley’s packs for this money. Unfortunately you can’t buy safety for that price. But $1 allows to bring hope to 300 LGBT+ people, who even don’t know that they are not alone.
For $5 our Ads will reach 1,500 people. Most likely, you will never meet them. But the theory of connections says that we all are tied together. So every individual’s happiness depends on others.
According to our statistics $10 can help to deliver our Ads to 3,000 people. 3,000 people is enough to make a big traditional Kazakh wedding. Unfortunately marriage is allowed only to heterosexual citizens. Homosexuals are still sidelined in the society. We don’t even exist officially, as well as discrimination and violence we face.
Let’s change this with us on Patreon.com!