Centre for Law and Policy Research

Location: India

Focus: Legal representation and policy reform for the trans community

Website: https://clpr.org.in

CLPR engage in path-breaking litigation, and law and policy research that shapes the field of transgender rights in India. They provide free legal representation to trans communities, winning a number of important victories. 

In 2018, CLPR represented the trans community in Section 377 proceedings that ended in the landmark Supreme Court decision decriminalising same-sex relations in India. CLPR have been instrumental in challenging the 2019 Transgender Act to better represent the community, as it failed to incorporate the right to self-declare gender identity without undergoing reassignment surgery. They drafted the Equality Bill 2021, further addressing discrimination experienced on the basis of caste, gender, religion, transgender and intersex identity, disability and other grounds. 

In 2020, GiveOut’s grant helped produce and disseminate two publications: ‘Beyond the Binary - Advancing Legal Recognition for Intersex Persons in India’, and ‘Exclusion Amplified’ on the needs and rights of the trans community during the pandemic. During lockdown, several government relief efforts were deployed, almost none of which were targeted at or accessible to trans people. CLPR successfully petitioned the courts to provide trans people access to COVID-relief provided by the state, including food rations and economic support. 

In 2021, GiveOut’s grant will support CLPR’s core costs as they continue their dedicated efforts to make the Indian Constitution work for all through policy research, social and governance interventions and strategic impact litigation. 

GiveOut is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Registered Charity Number 1176434).