MASS: Mobilising Alliances to Enhance Community Capacity Building for SOGIESC-affirming Mental Health Services

This project aims to enhance capacity for mental health services that are inclusive, affirming and culturally safe for key populations in Malaysia, specifically individuals with marginalised sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC minorities).

This community faces high mental health risks compounded by a lack of accessibility to inclusive mental health services largely due to the local environment where SOGIESC minorities lack legal, social or political protection.

As the proposed project is located in an geographic location where there are no systemic protections, public services or policies to provide SOGIESC minorities access to inclusive and high quality mental health services, we are proposing a micro-systems approach, by mobilising allied resources and experts including community advocacy organisations, SOGIESC affirming mental health professionals, social scientists and clinicians, to enhance community-based capacity building in the form of SOGIESC affirming training for mental health practitioners, this project will utilise a discursive and qualitative approach, with a aim of enhancing, implementing and validating community based training tools for the SOGIESC affirming mental health practitioners in Malaysia.

This is expected to impact the provision of inclusive health care in Malaysia by increasing the availability of mental health professionals able to deliver SOGIESC affirming mental health care to this stigmatised and minoritised group. This is could have the long-term impact of improving mental health outcomes for SOGIESC minorities.

The project will also contribute to capacity buidling in the LMIC, both in the NGO community as well as in academic and research capacity with two graduate training posts and research skills training for junior members.