The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) is a Nigeria-based registered not-for-profit organisation working to create a society where human rights are guaranteed regardless of status, identity, orientation, and affiliation. They exist to protect, uphold, and promote the rights and humanity of all Nigerians through advocacy, empowerment, education, and the provision of safe platforms of convergence. They were founded in 2005 as a response to the discrimination and marginalization of sexual minorities in both HIV prevention programming, human rights protection, advocacy, and mainstream human rights work.

Vision Statement

To create a society where human rights are guaranteed regardless of status, identity, orientation, and affiliation.

Mission Statement

They exist to protect, uphold, and promote the rights and humanity of all Nigerians regardless of their identity, orientation, and affiliation through advocacy, empowerment, education, the provision of safe platforms of convergence.

WHAT THEY DO

Human Rights

Their human rights work focuses on five programmatic areas: Documentation and Monitoring, Legal Representation, Advocacy, and Security Protection, and Storytelling.

Sexual Health

Their sexual health programme focuses on improving access to comprehensive health care services by minorities in Lagos and the environs.

They recognize that living in a hateful society has a negative impact on the well-being of minorities, so psychosocial support and re-integration services for minorities is an important aspect of the service we provide to individuals who face stigma, discrimination, and sometimes violence.

Because they understand that some of their service users have jobs that are not flexible enough to allow them access services on weekdays, their services are available every day of the week at the Lekki Centre.

Their Sexual Health work focuses on four programmatic areas: Sexual Health Education, Advocacy, Psychosocial services, and HIV/STI Management.

Capacity Building

Their capacity building programmes offer direct skills building for minority groups. They provide advice on education, life skills empowerment workshops as well as leadership development programmes in the Anglophone West African sub-region.