This document outlines an agenda and materials for a training on inclusion and participation of marginalized communities in Uganda. The agenda covers topics like introduction to inclusion and participation, power dynamics, identities and terminology related to LGBTQ individuals, and addressing gaps faced by marginalized groups. Ground rules for the training are outlined. Key discussions include identifying marginalized groups worked with locally and their challenges, as well as trends seen in research with groups like albinos, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, male survivors of sexual violence, and LGBTQ individuals. Barriers to and sources of joy for these communities are also discussed.

1. Inclusion and Participation of
Marginalized Communities
Uganda

2. December 9th 2019
Time Detail
09:00 – 09:15 Introductions & Opening Remarks
09:15 – 10:15 Introduction, Inclusion and Participation
10:15-11.00 Power, Marginalization and Vulnerability
11:00 – 11.30 Break
11:30 – 12:00 Discussion: What Marginalized Groups do we work with in Kyakka? What Challenges do we face?
12:00 – 13:00 LGBTI Identities and Terminology
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:45 Overview of the Research or Working With Marginalized Communities
14:45 – 15:15 Ideation: Addressing Gaps Associated with Marginalized Groups in the Short and Long Term
15:15 - 15:30 Break
15:30 – 17:00 Ideation: Addressing Gaps Associated with Marginalized Groups in the Short and Long Term, Presentations

3. Our Ground Rules:
1. Respect for all opinions, regardless of our own personal beliefs – we are here to
learn from one another!
2. Speak from the heart – fearlessly express your thoughts, feelings and opinions.
3. Confidentiality – everything shared in this space will be confidential, and not
shared outside.
Any others?

4. What are we covering in this training?
• Inclusion and Participation
• Marginalization, power and vulnerability
• LGBTI asylum seekers and refugees – identities and terminologies
• Results of the Research or Working with Marginalized Communities

5. LGBTIs – What is not covered in this training:
The following are not covered in this training:
• Challenging or disrespecting your moral or religious beliefs,
• Attempting to persuade anyone or promote homosexuality,
• Contravening national laws,
• Teaching about or advocating for non-consensual, coercive or abusive acts.
All we expect is that LGBTIs who approach us for services are treated fairly and with
dignity, and that they are given access to services just as any other customer who
approaches us.

6. Why Inclusion & Participation?
Sphere Handbook
Humanitarian Charter:
All people affected by crisis have a right to receive protection and assistance.
This right ensures the basic conditions for life with dignity.
Core Principle No. 2:
Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without
adverse distinction of any kind.
Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone.
“When diverse groups are involved in program design humanitarian responses are
more comprehensive, inclusive and have sustainable responses.”

7. Why Inclusion & Participation?
Through the Alight Lens
• We live up to our promises enshrined in the Sphere Handbook, to provide all with the
basic conditions of a life with dignity.
• We believe that all humans deserve human-worthy services, creating lives of meaning,
value and purpose through the provision of more than just basic services.
• We bravely be better, understanding that the most marginalized under our protection
often do not even receive basic services we strive to include them and spark joy in their
communities.
• We believe that everyone has the power to make change, and if people are excluded
from our services we are failing to reach our full potential.

8. What is Inclusion?
What is Participation?

11. Power
“ Power is the ability to control others, events, or resources. It is the ability to make
happen what one wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance or opposition”
Max Weber
Power is a term relative to choices and goals.
To lack power, is to lack a skill, resource or opportunity necessary to achieve a goal.

12. Power Dimensions
Internal Powers: Abilities,
Capabilities, Skills,
Knowledge, Motivation
External Powers:
Resources,
Favouring
Conditions.
• Language
• Literacy Level
• Skills/ Work
Experience from
the Country of
Origin
• Education
• Medical Status
• Socio-Economic Status
• Needs of the Community
• Personal Network
• Representation in RWCs
• Accessibility of Incentive
Workers
• Size of Support Network/
Family

13. When we look at internal and external power, we understand it to
be context dependent.
• Dependent on the internal powers of the individuals that make
up each society.
• Dependent on the environment and power structures in which
they live.

14. Power and Intersectionality
Experiences of power are different, depending on an individual’s
”intersectional” identities.
No-one is just poor, just an ethnic minority, just a woman etc.
Each person experiences a combination of inequalities differently, and
these will shape how each person responds in different situations.
An individuals experience of power is not just dependent on their
identity – but the environment around them.

15. Formation of Power Inequalities
Legal frameworks, policies and norms,
Institutional policies,
Budgets,
The physical environment,
Communication channels,
Social &/or cultural beliefs,
Attitudes and behaviour.

16. Formation of Power Inequalities
Societies are frameworks where power structures set conditions for the
actions of individuals.
Hierarchies of:
• Status,
• Decision making,
• Rule making and enforcement,
• Resource access and control,
• Gender relations.

17. Environments of Power
ıı
Household
Market Places, Schools,
Employers
Incentive Workers/ RWC
Representatives/ KujaKuja
Humanitarian
Organizations
Police / State
Service
Providers
Government Law and Policy,
Global Funders, International
Resettlement Countries
For power mapping tools see CARE’s Rapid Gender Analysis Toolkit

18. Marginalization occurs due to power inequalities
“To be marginalized, is to be distanced from power and resources that enable self-
determination in economic, political, and social settings. Marginalized communities
often have poor access to economical and other resources like education and social
services, meanwhile participation and self determination are on a low level”

19. Vulnerability and Power
Power is directly related to choice. The more power one has, the more
choices are available.
Vulnerable individuals are vulnerable to the exertion of power against
them, and often those from marginalized communities.

20. Vulnerability and Power
Those without power, have few choices and are vulnerable to
exploitation and abuse:
1. No access to protection and legal redress (Humanitarian protection
systems, the police)
2. No ability to advocate for themselves (access to Elders/RWCs/
Community outreach workers)
3. No access to resources (employment, food, water)

21. Dependency
Those without power often become dependent on the power of an
individual or organization to access resources.
Dependency may lead to exploitation and abuse, and allow them to
occur with impunity.

22. Humanitarian Interventions and Power
• Refugees are labelled as helpless victims by the humanitarian system, which
constructs them as dependent on aid organizations.
• This can place “refugees” as a powerful group when compared to those without
refugee status.
• Displacement often causes the breakdown of traditional social, political and
gendered relationships.
• Faced with limited resources and services, power dynamics can be exacerbated.
• Our interventions can affect power dynamics for the better or for the worse.

23. When do we need to consider Inclusion and Participation?
Assessment and analysis:
Inclusive needs assessment, across all sectors, ensuring targeted outreach to marginalized
communities. How are we disaggregating data?
Strategy development, planning and programme design:
Ensure the full participation of affected populations through close consultation during
program design and development to ensure accessibility.
Implementation:
Close communication with marginalized groups throughout program implementation,
identifying which groups are excluded and investigating why.
Monitoring, to evaluation and learning:
Do our M&E methodologies collect information related to marginalized groups? Are we
identifying how we can do better? Are we communicating about marginalized groups?

24. What kinds of marginalized groups do we work with in Kyakka?
What are some of the challenges you have experienced?

25. LGBTIs – Relevant Terminology.
Sex vs Gender:
Sex: Biological and physiological characteristics that define men and
women.
Gender: Socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes
that a given society considers appropriate for men and women

26. What is Sexual Orientation?
For those who are not heterosexual, feelings of difference often occur
around the age of adolescence.

27. Gay
A Western term increasingly used internationally that refers to a
man who is attracted (emotionally, sexually or spiritually)
predominantly to other men.
This term is also sometimes used to refer to a woman who is
attracted to another woman.

28. Lesbian
A Western term increasingly used internationally that refers to a
woman who is attracted (emotionally, sexually or spiritually)
predominantly to other women.

29. Bisexual
A person who is attracted emotionally, sexually or spirituality to
both men and women.
• Often not treated as a valid sexual orientation
• Individuals usually judged as either heterosexual or homosexual
• Stigmatized by homosexual and heterosexual populations

30. What is Gender Expression?

31. What is Gender Identity?
Gender Identity: a person's perception of having a particular gender,
which may or may not correspond with their birth sex.
Cisgender
Gender Identity
matching
biological sex.
Transgender
Gender Identity
different from
biological sex.

32. What Does Transgender Mean?
A transgender person is a person who’s personal gender identity (their own internal
sense of gender) does not match their biological sex.
Transgender people can identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or any other
way that they feel suits them!
Transgender people often experience an intense feeling of difference as children,
often before they discover their sexual orientation.
Transgender persons may feel at home and authentic in their body, or may not –
where permitted, some Trans people undergo hormone therapy or sex reaffirmation
surgery so their physiological appearance matches their gender identity.

34. What Does Intersex Mean?
Variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex
hormones or genitals that do not fit typical male or female physiology. Over
30 variations include:
Vaginal agenesis: A female infant is born without a vagina
Penile agenesis: A male infant is born without a penis
Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome: A person who appears to be
female, but does not have a uterus and is infertile.

35. LGBTs:
Nature or Nurture?

36. Increasingly appears that there is a genetic link to sexual
orientation, with multiple genes associated with non-heterosexual
sexual orientations.
There is a complex interplay between nature and nurture

37. Legal Situation of LGBTIQs in Uganda
Laws prohibiting same-sex sexual acts were first put in place by British colonizers in the 19th
Century.
Penal Code Act (1950):
Section 145: Unnatural Offences (imprisonment up to a life sentence)
Section 146: Attempt to commit unnatural offences (imprisonment for 7 years)
Section 148: Indecent practices.
Anti-Homosexuality Act (2014):
Was annulled by Uganda’s Constitutional Court, but intended to expand to add the death
penalty for homosexuality and add penalties for aiding and abetting homosexuality,

38. Research in Bidi Bidi, Nakivale, Oruchinga, Kampala:
14 Individual Interviews, 6 focus groups with:
• Albinos
• Persons with Disabilities
• Ethnic Minorities (Twaa, Pygmys)
• Male Survivors of Sexual Violence
• LGBTs
Research to continue in Bidi Bidi next week.

39. Albinos
• Discrimination from the wider community, particularly in employment (including in the humanitarian sector),
education and market places.
• Discrimination from service providers: the community are often turned away.
• Translators often are rude and aggressive to them.
• Threat of kidnap of young children.
• Security concerns at humanitarian offices, resulting in the community not being able to advocate for their rights.
• Discrimination which bars their access to RWCs.
• Lacking basic supplies necessary to stay healthy: sun creme and antibiotics to treat lesions.
• Inadequate food.
• Discrimination in mixed marriages.
• Inability to access Kuja Kuja “We see them pass by, but they don’t talk to us”.
Needs:
• Protection
• Skills training (particularly training the trainer), training in tailoring and linking to shops where they can sell items.
• Rearing Animals
• Resettlement

40. Persons with Disabilities
• Attitudes surrounding ability and disability: “People don’t understand that whilst are bodies may be disabled we
do not have disabilities in our heads”
• Inadequate access to education and health facilities – doctors are ill equipped to understand and treat their
specific needs.
• Barriers to accessing services because of rough terrain or a lack of accessibility experience.
• Gender based violence amongst girls and women
• Care givers often unable to work owing to burden of caring for children.
• Old mobility items
• A feeling of abandonment, and no belief in the humanitarian system whatsoever. “People come and ask us
questions but no one ever does anything – there is no change for us”. “We have approached organizations but no
one ever helps, no one is representing us”
Needs:
• New mobility items.
• Assistance with caring for disabled children
• Disability friendly services

41. Ethnic Minorities
• “The tribal violence that we faced in our countries has continued here, we are neglected everywhere.”
• Experiences of discrimination from the refugee communities “We are not valuable to society”
• Limited access to hospital or health care
• Discrimination, abuse and physical violence based on their ethnicity, commonly occurring in queues for
humanitarian services which causes fear and shame creating a barrier to accessing services.
• Lack of due diligence with the police.
• Children face discrimination in schools.
• Discrimination and disownment in mixed-marriages.
• Service providers treat the Twaa and Pygmys.
• “We may be united here in the community, but we are suffering and struggling”.
Needs:
• Greater protection.
• Access to education for their children

42. Male Survivors of Sexual Violence
• Sexual violence targeted toward ethnic minority men (including those of mixed tribes).
• “The discrimination here is so intense that we feel as though we have lost our value”.
• Exposure within the refugee community results in discrimination, which often impacts the man’s ability to provide
for his family. Wives may be forced perform survival sex work, but often the family is highly impoverished.
• Men are unable to uphold societal gender rolls, which affects family dynamics.
• Experiences of sexual violence in Uganda and in country of origin.
• Inability to access necessary surgery which is required as a result of sexual violence, and torture.
• Discrimination at the hands of service providers.
Needs:
• Greater protection.
• Support in livelihoods programs.
• Support in getting healthcare and surgery related to their experience of sexual violence.
• Capacity building of the Men of Peace group to allow them to run MHPSS services and sensitization workshops
with the refugee community.

43. LGBTIs
• LGBTIQs are unable to get refugee status based on their SO/GI. In order to get resettlement, LGBTIQs must first be
recognized on other grounds via OPM.
• Rwandese and Kenyan persons are unable to get refugee status, and are often undocumented leaving them open
to detention, harassment, abuse and violence by the police.
• Information gap related to legal situation for LGBTIQs in relation to asylum.
• Unable to organize into a community in Nakivale owing to security concerns related to congregating together.
• Extreme discrimination from service providers, barring access to all services. Even though there are officers open
to assisting, the fear of abuse prevents people from approaching services.
• Extreme discrimination, abuse and violence from fellow refugees in Nakivale, with no ability to access legal
protection.
• Discrimination barring access to markets, and employment, resulting in survival sex work.
• Sexual violence including “corrective rape” for LBQ women and gang rape for men and women.
• Insecure housing for those who are alone. Those with their families (particularly Sudanese and Somalis) are
exceptionally isolated.
• Not represented in RWCs.
• “We are waiting here for what? Death? Everyday is discrimination and torture.”

44. Trends:
• Inaccessible Services owing to fear of discrimination and abuse from
humanitarian workers/ fellow refugees.
• Widespread societal discrimination resulting in barriers to education,
health and employment.
• Fear of abuse and violence.
• Limited abilities to advocate to humanitarian organizations, RWCs
and other community outreach/feedback mechanisms.

45. Trends:
• Imposition of “Victimhood” on refugees.
• Lack of individual and group feedback between marginalized
persons and NGOs/IOs resulting in people feeling
unseen/unheard.
• Each group (and non-marginalized persons too!) are focusing
on resettlement.
• Service providers struggle to know how best to cater for
marginalized groups, with individuals often lying to try and
get items/specific services.

46. Sources of Joy
• Largely derived from the family unit:
 Feeling that individuals were providing opportunities for their children which
they never had, particular around education.
 Being able to provide for the family (clothes/food).
• The harvest and providing income for the family
 Planting seeds
 Harvesting
 Selling at the market
• Feeling joy in moments where they can forget their current hardship through
socialization with others, or in activities such as music and drama.
• Education:
 Many derived joy from education – knowing that they were working towards
a better future.

47. Barriers to Joy
Many reported that they never felt joy, value or purpose recently.
This was particularly apparent in the LGBTIQ, Male SGBV Survivor and PwD
communities.
An inability to feel joy was related to feelings of insecurity, poverty, and a
lack of MHPSS services.
"In order to feel joy the mental services here need to be changed. ARC did
home visits before, and reached out to me. The counselling about the
problems I am facing made things better, and created a space to feel joy.”

48. How can we address these gaps faced by
marginalized groups in the short and long
term?
Start With Giving
Be Human Centred Bravely Be Better
Find Others
Spark Joy
Choose Optimism
Do the Doable

49. Working with Marginalized Communities

50. Barriers to Opening Up
Our ability to provide services which are of true value to our clients is dependent on
understanding their individual circumstances.
Key Barriers:
• Shame about identity and experiences
• Fear of discrimination from interpreters and interviewers
• Fear of being overheard and “found out” by other staff or refugees
• Inability to trust
• PTSD & Extreme anxiety
• Dissociation

51. Importance of Safe Spaces
• Assists individuals in relaxing and opening up,
• Promotes trust between clients and interviewers
• Aids disclosure of difficult/ sensitive situations.

52. Considerations of Safe Physical Spaces
• Are spaces physically accessible for persons with disabilities?
• Are people able to access services?
• Where are they located? Are there transport barriers?
• Are individuals being given the option of service provision at
home?
• Are spaces private and do they feel warm and safe?
• Are individuals required to queue/ wait with others?

53. Creating a safe physical office environment
• Allow people the option of waiting privately, have multiple access doors to
service provision buildings.
• Meet in a private, sound-protected space; Keep your office neat and
organized
• Clear demonstrations of privacy, confidentiality and an individuals rights
• Provide soft, comfortable chairs
• Add a rug
• Display posters, photos, artwork
• Add live plants

54. Creating a safe environment through verbal interaction
Encouraging openness:
• Start the conversation with light topics not related to the
persons visit.
• Show empathy.
• Show genuine interest in the person and their story.
• Active listening – participate with the interviewee
• Don’t rush. Be gentle and patient.
• If the person becomes overwhelmed, offer a break or
temporarily move to an easier topic.

55. Creating a safe environment through verbal interaction
•Use a warm, conversational tone
•Be aware that the refugee may fear being overheard
• Speak loud enough to be heard clearly, but avoid raising
your voice

56. Confidentiality and Security
Underline confidentiality guarantees:
• Explicitly recognize the sensitivity of information relayed
• Acknowledge the consequences of exposure
• Repeatedly stress the confidentiality of the interview
• Explain what information will be harvested and recorded from the interview
• Explain when, why and to whom information will be shared (if applicable)
• If possible, communicate without an interpreter
• Avoid interpreters from refugee’s community of origin
• Ensure interpreter verbally agrees to keep information confidential
• Assure that sound does not travel outside the interview room

57. LGBT Specific Considerations
• Reiterate that this is a safe space for LGBT persons
• Display LGBT specific safe space materials (posters, badges)
• Utilize community networks to disseminate LGBT specific information
• Identify LGBT friendly persons in key organizations, and create direct referral
mechanisms
• Use respectful and inclusive language
• Allow people to define themselves in their own words and repeat their language back
to them
• Ask the client their preferred pronoun
• Use non-gendered language when discussing partners
• Use LGBT inclusive forms (see ORAM’s Registration Forms Memos)
• Be aware of issues surrounding using translators from the individuals country of
origin. Where possible, sensitize specific translators to be used with LGBTs

58. Power Dynamics
Power dynamics are inherent to our work:
We control the provision of services to individuals.
We ask people to talk about highly personal issues to
strangers.
What factors influence power dynamics in our
interactions with customers?

59. Power Dynamics
Meeting spaces
Not sharing information about yourself
Dress
Language

60. Mitigating Power Dynamics
Meeting spaces:
• Where possible allow customers the option of being interviewed at
home or in Alight offices,
• Create office spaces to be homelike, avoid extravagant demonstrations
of wealth
• Avoid typing on a computer
• Sit face to face, not on either side of a desk

61. Mitigating Power Dynamics
Interaction Style:
• Share information about yourself with the customer
• Explain the purpose and intent of the interview, as well as follow up
procedures and referral mechanisms
• Show gratitude for their time and respect for the customer
Personal Appearance:
• Avoid ostentatious demonstrations of wealth
• Avoid unnecessary formal wear

62. The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication
Marginalized groups
have trained
themselves to analyze
non-verbal
communication to
identify people who
are & aren’t
comfortable with
them.
7%
38%
55%
Communication is…
Words
Voice (tone, volume,
inflection)
Body language and facial
expressions

63. Non-Verbal Communication
•How we sit
•How we talk
•How close we stand/sit
•Eye contact
•How we gesture
•How we hold our body
Non-Verbal Communication
•How we sit
•How we talk
•How close we stand/sit
•Eye contact
•How we gesture
•How we hold our body

64. Non-Verbal Communication
• Leave your office to great the customer wherever they are waiting / if
they are sent in to maintain confidentiality, stand up to great them
• Great customers warmly
• Smile
• Make eye contact, but be sensitive if it is making the customer
uncomfortable.
• Be aware of your proximity to the customer – make sure they are not
uncomfortable with you being too close.
• Be aware of your body posture – don’t turn yourself away from them, or
close your body

65. Facial Expressions

66. Can we suspend our value judgements?