sexuality, gender, rights
Assume nothing, assume less, or if you are making assumptions, know what you are assuming. Geetanjali Misra on the SGRI ‘mantra’
CREA’s Sexuality, Gender and Rights Institute (SGRI) is an annual residential course that focuses on a conceptual study of sexuality. It examines the links between sexuality, rights, gender and health, and their interface with socio-cultural and legal issues. Participants critically analyze policy, research and program interventions using a rights-based approach while linking theory to practice.
SGRI is an invaluable resource for activists, researchers, journalists and practitioners working on issues of sexuality, LGBT rights, sexual rights, HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence (GBV), health and gender. It has also been made-to-fit for diverse contexts and language needs, and sessions are conducted in Global and Indian (Hindi) contexts. CREA has led similar Institutes for the Indian context in English as SGRI India (English) and for the Nepali context as SGRI Nepal.
Rooted in feminist and social justice purpose, principles, politics and practice, SGRI challenges participants’ deeply held and often personal assumptions about sexuality and rights, so that they may change the frame and discourse of sexuality, gender and rights in the world and develop alternatives to oppressive social and political norms.
SGRI Global
SGRI Global brings together practitioners and activists from around the world, with world-class, cross-disciplinary faculty from the global North and South. A nine-day residential program, it uses mixed teaching methods to help participants examine the intersections between gender, sexuality and rights, with an emphasis on interrogating social hierarchies, exclusion and discrimination based on sexuality.
SGRI India (Hindi)
SGRI (Hindi), also known as ‘Yaunikta, Gender aur Adhikar—Ek Adhyayan’, was designed in 2007 for individuals who identify as women development workers from community-based organizations in India. The goal is to enhance their understanding of concepts related to sexuality, gender and human rights. Participants deconstruct gender, sexuality, sexual rights and identities and build understanding of consent, bodily integrity, non-discrimination, pleasure, freedom and protection from harm. During this six-day annual residential Institute participants learn the intersections of sexuality with caste, class, ethnicity, orientation, labor, reproductive health, disability, mental well-being and other intersections. This Institute is also CREA's effort to share feminist values and principles and discuss important concepts and accurate information on sexuality and its intersections in Hindi. This is particularly crucial because debates around new concepts globally and regionally take place in English. This linguistic barrier should not impede Hindi-speaking activists and practitioners, especially those working in Hindi-speaking areas, to engage with and respond to ongoing changes and related conversations.
The SGRI Alumni Institute
The SGRI Alumni Institute is an advanced residency program open only to CREA SGRI alumni. It aims to deepen the alumni’s understanding of issues introduced in previous institutes, facilitate more cutting-edge debates among participants, and explore frameworks through which to address emerging issues. It invites participants to explore feminist fault lines and feminist movement-building.
