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Colgate University

Publication Date

Spring 2014

Program Name

Nepal: Development and Social Change

Abstract

This independent study project seeks to investigate healthcare and health education initiatives in Nepal’s sexual and gender minority communities. While many human rights activist groups are working for LGBTQI equality, strong social stigmas and controversy within the queer community make access to adequate reproductive healthcare information and services very difficult. Through interviews and fieldwork, this research investigates the main actors in LGBTQI healthcare initiatives, healthcare debates within the queer community, and how reproductive healthcare initiatives from the LGBTQI community fit into the larger picture of sexual health education in Nepal. Research for this project was conducted through structured and semi-structured interviews with employees and volunteers of LGBTQI activist organizations and reproductive health educators. This study concludes that, while progress has been made in the field of health education for Nepal’s queer communities, this progress has significant geographic and demographic constraints. Furthermore, the global focus on HIV/ AIDS has rendered those queer populations not at-risk for the virus invisible to donor organizations.

Disciplines

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Public Health Education and Promotion

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