Nigerian-based LGBT media monitoring group
The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) is a Nigeria-based registered non-for-profit organisation which advocates for LGBT rights in Nigeria.
TIERs provides support and resources for the LGBTQ+ community, including conducting educational programs, workshops, and seminars related to LGBTQ+ advocacy.
The organization conducts research on issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, producing reports and polls on issues regarding LGBT rights and public opinion. It has also documented and reported human rights abuses in Nigeria.
History.
The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) was founded in 2005 as a response to the discrimination and marginalisation of sexual minorities in both HIV prevention programming, human rights protection, advocacy, and mainstream human rights work. It is based in Lagos.
Programs.
TIERs has partnered with Nollywood to produce films which represent queer characters and experiences in a positive light, as most Nigerian films portray negative stereotypes of queer character. In 2016, the organization released "Hell or High Water", a short film which deals with societal expectations regarding sexuality in Nigeria. It sponsored the 2018 film "We Don't Live Here Anymore".
TIERs has released 10 publications on issues concerning human rights, sexuality and gender orientation, violence, social rights and cultural relativism.