The Role of Tech Skill in Empowering Queer Communities: Breaking Barriers and Building Inclusive Digital Spaces.
By: Samuel Obande for Q-Tech Academy Scholars
The intersection of technology and social justice is a powerful area of exploration, especially when it comes to empowering marginalized communities like the queer community. Below is a comprehensive overview of the role of tech skills in empowering queer communities.
- Connections and Community Building: Tech skills play a pivotal role in empowering queer communities globally. Through the creation of queer-specific social media applications and social platforms, LGBTQ+ individuals can be provided with spaces where they can safely connect, share experiences, and find support networks, especially in countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda where queer communities face social stigma or legal challenges. Through these digital platforms, queer persons who are not yet out can find safe communities and digital spaces which offer safe avenues to explore and express their identities. These platforms also host numerous LGBTQ+ support groups where members can discuss issues, seek advice, and foster friendships.
- Advocacy and Activism: Social media campaigns can reach a global audience, raising awareness about issues affecting queer communities, from discrimination to health disparities. Hashtags like #LoveIsLove and #TransRightsAreHumanRights amongst others have driven visibility and conversations worldwide.
- Crowdfunding: Through digital spaces and communities for queer communities, activists and organizations can raise funds for initiatives such as healthcare, legal assistance, etc for queer individuals.
- Accessibility and Inclusivity: Inclusive digital spaces ensure better access to education on queer identity, mental health, sexual health and rights, empowering individuals with the knowledge to navigate their lives. Queer-focused platforms and websites like The Trevor Project, ReportOUT, The Equality Pathway or ILGA, offer specialized content for diverse LGBTQ+ needs.
- Health: Building apps like Healthvana or MyTransHealth provide LGBTQ+ individuals with health information, reminders for medication or PrEP, and directories for queer-friendly healthcare providers.
- Education and Employment: Organizations like The Equality Pathway (Q-Tech) provide tech-based roles, especially remote ones, offering economic empowerment for LGBTQ+ individuals in regions where they might face employment discrimination. Additionally, virtual networking platforms and communities, like Lesbians Who Tech, provide a space to connect with LGBTQ+ professionals and mentors. Learning platforms like Q-Tech Academy or Out in Tech offer skill-building and educational opportunities, often with mentorship from queer professionals, which is critical for underrepresented LGBTQ+ individuals aiming to build careers in technology.
- Safety: For LGBTQ+ individuals in hostile environments, tools like VPNs and encrypted messaging allow safe and anonymous communication. Apps like Signal, which is heavy on data protection, are often used by activists to protect their communications. Through tech, many LGBTQ+ apps are addressing harassment, enhancing privacy and censorship features to ensure users’ identities and locations are secure, crucial in countries where being queer is criminalized.
Utilizing and maximizing tech for the queer community and via queer techies especially in Nigeria becomes really impactful because we know exactly what the challenges, pain points and opportunities are. Nobody can tell your story better than you, right? So, which techie can digitally represent the queer community other than queer techies?
By breaking barriers and building inclusive digital spaces, we can create a more just and equitable world for queer individuals.
