Julius Kaggwa
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Julius Kaggwa | |
|---|---|
 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton poses for a photo with recipients of the U.S. State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Defender Award including Julius Kaggwa in Kampala, Uganda on August 3, 2012. | |
| Born | Uganda |
| Occupation | Executive Director of Support Initiative for People with atypical sex Development |
| Known for | Intersex and transgender activist |
| Website | sipduganda.org |
Julius Kaggwa is a prominent Ugandan intersex[1] and transgender activist and executive director of intersex support organization Support Initiative for People with atypical sex Development (SIPD).[2][3] In 2010, Kaggwa was a joint winner of the Human Rights First Human Rights Award.[4][5] The following year, he was a joint winner of the Human Rights Defenders Award.[6]
Kaggwa campaigns on health, support and human rights issues facing intersex people,[7] and also gender non-conforming people, and against the Ugandan "Anti-homosexuality" Bill.[8][9]
Kaggwa has described how intersex infants may be mutilated or terminated due to the stigma surrounding their birth, and mothers may be stigmatized.[10] SIPD aims to change cultural attitudes, and support appropriate medical care.[10] Intersex conditions are viewed as a medical issue, in contrast to homosexuality,[10] but as a committed Christian, Kaggwa argues that violence and discrimination against LGBT people is incompatible with his faith.[11] In 2016, Kaggwa described how increasing discrimination against LGBT people in Uganda has contributed to a lack of safety for intersex people.[12]