Events
The Women's Support Group has had an eventful and active couple of years. We have conducted awareness workshops, held the Clothesline Project to voice issues of violence against women, and also participated in conferences to strengthen our group and its activities.
Workshops - National
The WSG has regularly held awareness workshops on sexual health, sexual rights and sexuality. With the help of resource people from our own group and other organisations, we have been to various rural areas to hold these workshops. Our main aim in conducting these workshops is to raise visibility of the WSG as a support group for LBT women. In most instances, we have held these workshops for women community workers who are leaders in their own villages and districts. By addressing these women, we hope to bring attention to the stigma and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in their own surroundings. Issues of sexuality and gender are intrinsically connected, and therefore, in our outreach activities we focus on gender awareness in relation to our society. The atmosphere created by our interactive sessions allowed them to relax and narrate many anecdotal stories to us about people in their communities who have lived lives that were “different.” We and our participants have both learnt from these workshops.
Workshop on HIV / AIDS and Sexual Health Rights, May 31, 2009, Bandaragama
The WSG was invited to do a one day workshop on HIV / AIDS and Reproductive Health Rights by the Women's Centre in Ja-Ela for the Free Trade Zone workers. This workshop was jointly conducted by the Women’s Support Group and the Equal Ground.
International / regional workshops and
conferences
Workhop by RFSU October 11 - 15, 2009 - Delhi, India
"Two members of the WSG attended a meeting in Delhi, at the invitation of the RSFU. The WSG made a presentation of it’s activities that are funded by the RSFU.
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Sports Events
Sri Lanka’s First Ever Solidarity Gaymes
Sri Lanka’s pioneer LGBTIQ organizations Companions on a Journey and Women’s Support Group made a groundbreaking move on the 13th of December 2008.
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Also check out the blog www.solidaritygaymescolombo.wordpress.com
Women’s Support Group’s 3rd Annual All Women’s Cricket Tournament
The WSG held its Annual Six-a-Side All Women's Cricket Encounter for the third consecutive year on the 16th of October 2005. This year the tournament was held at the St Thomas' College small club grounds with more than 10 all women teams from around the island including Anuradapura, Galle, Wattala, Kandy and Colombo.
The WSG Women's Celebration Cricket Challenge
Women dominated sporting events are rare in Sri Lanka . This is even more difficult is finding a sports event that is not ‘traditionally' feminine, such as cricket. The first ever Women's Support Group Annual Women's Celebration Cricket Tournament took place at the Shalika Grounds, Colombo 5 in August 2002. This limited overs cricket tournament was also another way of reaching out to other women to create a link between the WSG and other women's organisations. We were happy have the presence of nationally certified women umpires too!
Gay Games VII
The 7th Gay Games was held in Chicago from the 15th to the 25th of July 2006. An opportunity for not just for sportsmanship, but an expression of solidarity and fellowship, the Gay Games has empowered tens of thousands of LGBT athletes from around the world. Built upon the principles of participation, inclusion and personal best the Gay Games has celebrated the achievements of sexual minorities for over twenty years.
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Sex Workers' Project
In 2002, the Women's Support Group started working with a group of female sex workers from the Colombo area. We identified the sex workers as a sexual minority group that is disadvantaged due to many reasons, least of all their poverty, and as a sexual minority group we felt that our intervention would be helpful. We were helped in this endeavour by a community development organisation that let us use their space for our project.
Language Classes
The initial discussions held with this group of women showed an overwhelming desire on the part of the women to learn skills and languages. Some of them could barely sign their name, and most had not completed their primary or secondary education. From October 2002 onwards, we held English classes for the women with the help of a volunteer from Volunteers International Projects Trust .
In 2003, we expanded these language classes to include the children of sex workers as well. This move was extremely successful with the children being more enthusiastic than the adults! The English classes run by another Australian volunteer was a hit.
Health Clinics
In 2003 July we also organised free general medical clinics for the sex workers as they had told us of the discriminatory treatment they face at the hospitals. In the latter half of 2003 we conducted 3 medical clinics for the women and their families, which we continued during 2004 as well. Doctors from the government sector voluntarily gave of their time to treat them. The WSG also provided these patients with the medicines prescribed to them. The doctors found that respiratory illnesses and malnutrition were common afflictions, as a result of poor diet and unhealthy living environments. The sex workers also complained at these clinics that they had no proper water supplies.
Fundraising events
Dykes and Divas and Pride and Spirit
These parties were organized as fundraisers for the 2006 Gay Games. For details please check the section on the Gay Games in this site.
Diversity
The WSG together with the COJ was given the honor of organizing the official community party for the 8th ICAAP 2007. For details please see under Conferences – ICAAP
Women on Top
The first ‘ Women on Top' party was held in March 2002 as a fundraising event which also acted as the launching event for The Clothesline Project. This was conceptualised as a women only party, as there are no spaces at which women can enjoy themselves without the presence of men. At this event f unds were also raised for the AIDSline project which is run by the AIDS Coalition. The WSG were happy to donate Rs.20,000/- towards this program.
In 2003 we held the ‘Women on Top' again which was an even bigger success as a fundraiser than the previous year. At this event which was held at a leading hotel in Colombo , we started with a few dance items that had all the women cheering and tapping their toes and clapping their hands. More than three hundred women enjoyed themselves dancing till early morning after the dance items by Kolu, some of our members and other friends.
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