RightsCon Toronto 2018

This session will launch 'Breaking the Silence', Small Media’s new report examining the situation of the LGBTQ community in Iran, and will bring together a panel of LGBTQ activists, content producers, and digital security experts to discuss the most urgent needs of the community as of 2018.

The report itself assesses the digital media development needs of Iran’s LGBTQ community, and explores some of the ways in which tech is being used to deliver vital information and sexual/mental health support services to marginalised and vulnerable populations. We will discuss how community organisations have been able to leverage the popularity of platforms like Instagram and Telegram to deliver services to LGBTQ citizens, while remaining alert to a host of online threats.

In our discussion we will identify some key activities for advocates and LGBTQ organisations to undertake to support the digital media needs of the LGBTQ community as identified in Small Media's report.