By Bolaji Oyindamola | Senior Program Officer (Advocacy and Comms)
In 2025, TIERs continued to strengthen our commitment to advancing human rights, sexual health, and capacity building for marginalized communities across Nigeria. Through strategic partnerships, research-driven advocacy, and grassroots engagement, we addressed critical issues affecting the human rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals and other vulnerable groups.
These initiatives focused on empowering individuals, amplifying voices, and creating sustainable change. The following pages highlight key projects and milestones that defined our work this year, driving progress toward equality, justice, and dignity for all. All this was made possible by our funders and partners.
Increasing Sexual and Reproductive Autonomy Among Women and Girls (IPAS) TIERs' Sexual Health and Wellness team under the IPAS project carried out a series of community entry meetings catering to women of sexual minority groups across different parts of Lagos. We trained 25 LBQ women as community intermediaries to advocate for bodily autonomy and access to contraceptives. The department coordinated monthly cohort sessions and developed digital SRHR content that reached over 1,000 individuals. The primary objectives were to increase awareness about sexual health and wellness among these women, foster community engagement, build supportive networks, and provide educational resources on sexual health and rights.
Tackling Multi-Layered Stigma in Healthcare Settings (ViiV Healthcare)
Under the ViiV Healthcare grant, TIERs worked to reduce HIV-related stigma by engaging six health facilities in southwest Nigeria and the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency. We trained people living with HIV and sex workers on advocacy, and developed stigma-reduction messages in local languages. The project partnered with NEPHWAN for documentation and legal aid, distributed safer sex commodities, and held monthly rights-holders' sessions on anti-discrimination laws and patient bill of rights. We also conducted a 2-day training for peer educators in collaboration with the Sexual Health and Wellness team, and responded to and documented 5 workplace discrimination cases, securing a settlement for one of the clients. Advocacy visits to the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Ministry of Health, and Lagos State Agency for the Control of AIDS (LSACA) for advocacy and anti-discrimination efforts, and held consultative meetings with 6 healthcare facilities.
Increasing Uptake of HIV Services
Under this project, we submitted the mid-year performance report, trained 20 community focal persons on social networking and QuickCare App usage to drive community-level uptake, coordinated support group sessions with 100 PLHIV, and facilitated doorstep delivery of HIV consumables including self-test kits, condoms, and lubricants to over 300 beneficiaries.
Outright Conversion Practice Project
TIERs Clinic psychologist facilitated support group cohort sessions, reaching 30 survivors with psychosocial support. Also, our collaboration with CPHI and ICARH under the same initiative reached 40 survivors of conversion practices. We organized a National Inclusive Mental Health Symposium, convening survivors, professionals, policymakers, and advocates. We also participated in a panel discussion at the African Family Value Conference to amplify advocacy against conversion practices, focusing on the impact of religious fundamentalism and anti-rights narratives.
Free to be Me X TIERs
We led planning and delivery of the capacity strengthening retreat and workshop facilitation. We participated in finance training and advocacy strategy workshops as part of the Building Strong Foundations Working Group.
Community Engagement
SafeSense Campaign
From the 5th of April to 14th of May 2025, we ran the SafeSense campaign funded by Gatefield on our social media pages and website. We engaged influencers to create content around the need for regular testing for STIs and STDs. TIERs Sexual Health and Wellness team collated data from the clinic visits based on the campaigns which helped in creating audience-focused programmes for 2026.
Rant with Tellah
In March 2025, the TIERs started a Twitter space series where we talk to the community about common topics around queerness, pop culture, and mental health. This has held every month from February to November 2025. Our highest numbers are 185 tuned-in listeners and 122 live listeners, with an average of 70 to 90 listeners per episode.
HIV and AIDS Anti-discrimination Campaign
For this campaign, TIERs carried out consultative meetings with 6 healthcare facilities in the south West region of Nigeria. We created IEC materials for each healthcare facility and are planning to deliver training for their staff on gaps identified during our discussions.
Under this same grant, we mobilized Community members to produce content for social media via campaign posters and social media live sessions where they educated the public about HIV and AIDS treatment and the HIV& AIDS Act, 2014
New Clinical Services
TIERs Sexual Health and Wellness Clinic expanded its services to include cervical cancer screening, medical abortion services, and cryotherapy. These additions ensure that our community has access to comprehensive, quality healthcare in a safe and affirming environment.
Strategic Medication Donation Secured
TIERs secured a donation of 819 ARV units from Aurobindo via Phillips Pharmaceutical, along with condoms and lubricants from other partners. This donation helped close the gap created by rollback of international funding experienced at the start of 2025.
2025 Inclusive Lens Award - She, He, They Web Series
The groundbreaking web series, She He, They continued to make waves in 2025. On September 2, 2025, the series won The 2025 Inclusive Lens Award at Fame Week Africa 2025. This series is groundbreaking as it is the first series in Nigeria that is solely centered around queer characters and their struggles for human rights. It is purposefully provocative and authentic in showing what it is to be queer in Lagos, Nigeria. It highlights issues like transphobia, homophobia, workplace discrimination, and the dangers around dating as a queer person in Nigeria.
Defending the Fundamental Human Rights of the LGBTQ+ Community
TIERs managed continuous helpline operations responding to human rights violations including sexual assault, blackmail, and extortion. We documented 91 cases during this period and provided legal and welfare support, facilitated emergency logistics, and coordinated legal counsel and court attendances for multiple cases including the Kito-9 case.
EVENTS
Pride 2025
2025 Pride was marked with 3 events. On the 21st of June 2025, an art event organized by 16 by 16 and Visual AIDS in collaboration with TIERs, a webinar held on the 24th of June 2025, and a party on the 28th of June 2025 hosted at TIERs office space. The party featured a clothing drive where we gave out donated clothes to interested attendees.
The Mental Health Symposium
The Symposium held on the 29th of August 2025 and brought together conversion practices survivors, mental health professionals, policymakers, and advocates to discuss mental health issues affecting the queer community. TIERs Clinic psychologist facilitated support group cohort sessions, reaching 30 survivors with psychosocial support and also partnered with CPHI and ICARH in reaching 40 survivors of conversion practices.
Our African Family, Culture and Values Hybrid Conference
On the 30th of September 2025, TIERs convened the inaugural Our African Family, Culture and Values Conference in Abuja. This groundbreaking event brought together 27 abstract submissions, with 8 noteworthy abstracts selected for presentation. African authors from around the world presented their working papers, framing the African Family, Culture and Values through an inclusive and decolonial lens. The conference featured panel discussions on topics including the impact of religious fundamentalism and anti-rights narratives on conversion practices. The event concluded with a screening of the documentary "Decolonizing our Identities" and traditional entertainment that celebrated African culture and diversity.
The 11th Annual Human Rights, Sexuality, and the Law Symposium
On the 12th of December 2025, The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs), in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), successfully hosted the 11th Annual Human Rights, Sexuality, and the Law Symposium in Abuja at the NHRC headquarters. This landmark event, held in commemoration of International Human Rights Day provided a crucial platform to address the realities of human rights violations experienced by marginalized group and vulnerable key populations across Nigeria.
2025 Human Rights Violations Report Based on real or perceived SOGIESC in Nigeria
This is our 12th report launched that details the human rights violations based on real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). With the help of our reporting partners all round Nigeria, we have been able to create this report that shows the extent of the situation on human rights violations by both state actors and non-state actors.
Appearances and Conferences attended
TIERs X PAI 7th Regional Conference
TIERs led a session titled, ‘Claiming Spaces- Queer Visibility in Work and Art’. This session focused on reclaiming space and visibility for queer identities in both professional and cultural realms. Speakers at this session are Alexandra Maduagwu (TIERs), Chimdimma Ike (TIERs) and Vuyokazi Futshane.
During the session, we showcased the power of art and storytelling in decolonising African queer identities using our documentary, ‘Decolonising our Identities’.
TIERs x ICASA 2025
TIERs attended ICASA 2025 to present research on community-driven HIV service models that respond to the realities LGBTQ+ people face in Nigeria. Our presentation during the Partnership in HIV/Innovation and Best Practices 1 Session, was on our Abstract on “Community-Led HIV Service Model for LGBTQ+ Populations Under Legal Restriction in Nigeria: Results from the Nigeria LGBTQI+ Consortium Project”
Emergency Response and Helpline
TIERs has continued to run its emergency response hotline. The helpline is open 24/7 taking calls from community members who need various help from counseling, safe house, legal support, or financial support. This year TIERs provided emergency logistics and safe housing support to several individuals and two organizations who needed urgent relocation.
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By Bolaji Oyindamola | Senior Program Officer (advocacy and Comms)
By Bolaji Oyindamola | Senior Program Officer (Advocacy and Comms)
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