LGBTQIA Community Support in Beirut through HELEM

Helem, is the first LGBTQIA+ rights organization in the Arab world, officially established in Beirut, Lebanon in 2001. Its mission is to lead the struggle for the liberation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Intersex, Transgendered, Queer (LGBTQIA+) and other people with non-conforming sexualities and/or gender identities in Lebanon and the SWANA region from all sorts of violations of their individual and collective civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Its goal is to empower young LGBTQIA+ leaders to advocate for their own liberation.

Helem runs various programs and advocacy campaigns and provides a wide range of services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Lebanon, including emergency response, legal assistance, family support, and activist training. It also runs one of the largest queer spaces in the MENA region through its community center and prioritizes decriminalization, labor rights, housing, hate speech, and economic empowerment as advocacy priorities.