The Van: how flexible funding is powering a safe space in the wake of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda

Womankind provides core funding to partners through Strategic Partner Support Grants. These funds can be used flexibly and strategically according to partners’ needs and local contexts. This contributes to the resilience of feminist organisations and movements.  We spoke with Gloria Mutyaba, Programme Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG) to hear about the impact of the grant so far. 

A community under threat

In 2023, Uganda passed The Anti-Homosexuality Act. Despite legal challenges, in 2024 the majority of the act was upheld by the Constitutional Court. This includes provisions that violate fundamental human rights and fuel discrimination. 

“As Uganda approaches the 2026 Presidential elections, this Act continues to fuel state-sanctioned witch hunts targeting LGBTQI+ individuals. They face baseless and harmful accusations, and the institutionalised violation of their human rights continues unabated, further marginalising those already vulnerable.” 

Anti-homosexuality legislation stigmatises and criminalises the LGBTQI+ community. This is exacerbated by the rise of anti-gender and anti-rights movements, which shape national discourse and rhetoric around LGBTQI+ issues. The Act represents an ongoing threat to the rights, safety, and dignity of LGBTIQ+ people and Uganda’s broader civil society. It also undermines solidarity between local organisations and movements through threats of de-registration. 

When the Act was passed, FARUG were evicted from their offices despite having paid six months’ rent in advance. They had to close their drop-in centre, which provided sexual and reproductive health services, mental health support, and a safe space for members of the LBQ community. 

At the same time, FARUG had to respond to an increase in attacks against community members. “We had a bike”, says Gloria, FARUG’s Director of Programmes. “So, someone would go by bike to take people what they needed, or deliver first-aid. But after the bill passed we had so many cases. It was hard for us to reach everyone”.   

FARUG wanted to buy a vehicle so that they could reach more people with more services. But they struggled to find a funder who would allow for this type of purchase. “We were contacting all our funders saying ‘we need funds for this’” Gloria told us. “Every single funder was like ‘we do not buy cars’”. 

It was then that Womankind reached out to let FARUG know they would be receiving a Strategic Grant. After a brief e-mail exchange to confirm they could use the funds in this way, FARUG bought their van. 

A mobile sanctuary

The van has become FARUG’s new office. It also doubles as a mobile hospital, therapy centre and meeting room. 

“This van can suffer! It does everything! It moves stuff around. We use it to work together or meet. It’s taking people to health centres. We use it for emergency response. If people have been attacked, you can go pick them up. If they need medication, you can take it to them. People don’t feel safe to go to a therapy centre. So now we go with the therapist, pick the person up, and drive them around while they talk. And when they feel a bit lighter, we drop them back off”.

FARUG treats the van as a community resource. It has been used for everything from outreach to a mobile HIV testing centre. It’s also an important solidarity tool. It ensures support for the community in difficult and joyful moments alike. 

“If someone has a party we will turn up. If someone has lost someone, we can use the van to bring people to the funeral.”

The context has forced FARUG to quickly and radically change the way they work. Flexible funding is essential to ensuring organisations can quickly pivot. It enables them to respond to what’s happening around them and the needs of their communities. 

“[flexible funding] allows us to decide our own priorities. Beyond the van we want to use the strategic grant to purchase land to build our own premises. We’ve asked for land. We’ve asked for buildings for years. Funders always say no because it’s a capital asset and they do not fund capital assets. We keep telling them ‘it’s not sustainable for you to be allocating money for rent for us, when we are going to be evicted!’ If we had our own property no one could evict us.”

The power of flexible funding  

The strategic grant has enhanced FARUG’s agility. Recently, a sexual offenses bill was re-tabled in Uganda that outlines sexual offenses and their punishments. The bill contains some positives, such as recognising sexual harassment and outlining how to report it. However, it would require anyone caught engaging in a homosexual act to register as a sex-offender. 

FARUG had not budgeted for advocacy around the bill. The strategic grant ensured they had resources to quickly mobilise. They used it to organise a convening to inform community members about the bill and its consequences, and to engage in advocacy.  

“There are situations that are going to happen that you didn’t plan for, and you have to respond to them. If a budget is unrestricted, you can respond to things as they come.”

In the face of this new legislation, Gloria calls for feminist solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community. She also calls on funders to better resource their communities and organisations. “Patriarchy affects women within the LBQ community – it’s not only a cis thing. Queer and trans women are the most marginalised. We are facing a lot of attacks and regressive legislation. There is an urgent need for emergency response and to counter criminalisation. But LBTQ+ women get the least funding” she told us.  

“Womankind is the only organisation giving us a sustained emergency response. When the bill passed, there was that tokenism of people showing that they had acted, and now they don’t care. And the person I’m going to appreciate is the one that’s like ‘I’m going to hold your hand throughout’.”

Flexible funding is an essential part of Womankind’s partnership with FARUG and other LBTQI+ and feminist organisations. We call on other funders to join us in contributing to the long-term safety and sustainability of their movements through core funding.  

Gloria is featured in Everyday Feminism: The Anthology – a book that spotlights the stories of 10 feminists from across the global movement. You can get your free digital copy on 6th March here.