Colombia Diversa

Colombia Diversa is the most important LGBTQ+ human rights organisation in Colombia — a legal and advocacy organisation based in Bogotá that has been at the centre of the country's LGBTQ+ rights movement for over two decades. The organisation's work focuses on the areas where Colombian LGBTQ+ people face the most acute risks: documenting violence against LGBTQ+ people (particularly in areas of armed conflict), litigating before the Constitutional Court (which has been the primary venue for LGBTQ+ rights advances in Colombia, including marriage equality in 2016), and producing the research and legal analysis that underpins advocacy campaigns. Colombia Diversa played a central role in the legal strategy that achieved marriage equality and has been the principal documentation body for violence against LGBTQ+ people in conflict zones. The organisation's reports on violence against LGBTQ+ Colombians are cited by international human rights bodies and form the evidentiary basis for international pressure on the Colombian government. Colombia Diversa operates from Bogotá's Chapinero neighbourhood, placing it at the heart of the city's LGBTQ+ civil society concentration. For visitors who want to understand the political and human rights dimensions of LGBTQ+ life in Colombia — not just the nightlife — engaging with Colombia Diversa's published work is an essential starting point. The organisation accepts volunteers and interns and is a resource for journalists and researchers working on Colombian LGBTQ+ issues.