If you are in immediate danger, get to a safe place first. A church, a market, a friend's, a bus. Then contact us. If you are in the United Kingdom and your life is at risk, call 999.
United Kingdom+44 7503 119455CallWhatsApp
What we can do
- Listen. Most calls are someone who has never said it out loud. Say it to us.
- Talk you through the night. After the door, after the kito, after the test result.
- Practical advice. What to do if you are being blackmailed, arrested, put out of your home, or diagnosed. We know the law and we know the tricks.
- Small emergency money. When we can, from book sales and donations: a night in a guest house, a bus fare out of a dangerous town, a clinic visit. It is small and it is not always possible, but ask.
- Point you to the right people. Lawyers who have handled these cases, clinics that do not judge, organisations in Nigeria and the UK that exist for this.
What we cannot do
- We are not the police, a hospital or a law firm. We will tell you when you need one.
- We cannot get you a visa. Anyone who says they can, for money, is lying.
- We are volunteers with our own lives and our own phones. If nobody picks up, message and wait. We call back.
In person, in Owerri
There is a place in Owerri where people can come for help: World Bank Housing Estate, Owerri, Imo State. For everyone's safety, call or message first, and we will tell you exactly where and when. Please do not arrive unannounced, and do not share the location publicly.
Who answers
Volunteers in Nigeria, Ghana and the United Kingdom, coordinated by me, Ifechi Japhet Nwaorisa. Everyone who answers is LGBT+ themselves or has a family member who is. Nothing you tell us is shared with anyone. We do not keep records of names.
Organisations that also help
- Nigeria: The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs), Lagos, legal and psychosocial support; Bisi Alimi Foundation; Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative for mental health.
- United Kingdom: Rainbow Migration and Micro Rainbow for LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees; Switchboard LGBT+ helpline, 0800 0119 100; Samaritans, 116 123, any time; Terrence Higgins Trust for HIV, 0808 802 1221.
- Ghana: Rightify Ghana and LGBT+ Rights Ghana for advice and referrals.
None of these organisations is connected to this site. They are listed because they have helped people we know.