The Human Dignity Trust: Legally Challenging the Illegality of Homosexuality

The Human Dignity Trust is a legal charity that supports those who want to challenge anti-gay laws wherever they exist in the world.

Laws that criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people put them beyond the protection of the law, fostering a climate of fear and violence. The Human Dignity Trust supports local activists and their lawyers to uphold international human rights law, including a person's right to dignity, equality and privacy.

Their technical legal assistance is free and available to anyone challenging the criminalisation of homosexuality through the courts.

The Human Dignity Trust provides technical legal assistance to courts, tribunals, human rights lawyers and activists seeking to uphold constitutional law and international human rights law by challenging laws in jurisdictions that criminalise private consensual same-sex relations.

The Trust is supported by highly reputed lawyers, including top barristers and solicitors’ firms from around the world. It also has an impressive array of patrons. The Trust’s aim is to work with lawyers and grass-roots organisations in each relevant jurisdiction and provide them with the legal assistance that they may require to bring about a successful challenge or defence (in the event that an individual is being prosecuted). The Trust works in a country/ region only on invitation of the local organisations and sees itself as a resource that the local/ regional organisations can utilise in order to implement their locally informed strategies. The Trust is not a campaigning organisation and does not wish to engage in any form of political dialogue.