Research is an integral part of the work conducted by Humsafar Trust. Initiated in 1992, the research unit was formalized in 2004 as an independent department. Humsafar Trust is the first CBO to set up its own Institutional Review Board (IRB) with Federal Wide Assurance certificate. Humsafar Trust has collaborated with leading research agencies such as IAVI, ICMR, ICRW, FHI 360 as well as academic institutions such as TISS (Mumbai), University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston (Houston), University of Minnesota (Minnesota), UCSF (San Francisco), Northwestern University (Chicago), Einstein Medical School and Montefiore Medical Center (New York), Brown University (Providence), Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), University of Toronto (Toronto), and Baldwin Wallace College (Cleveland) on numerous studies, and has presented abstracts at major HIV conference such as (AIDS, IAS, APHA, ICAAP) over the last eight years.
The Humsafar Trust implements research studies for LGBTQ+ communities in both Delhi and Mumbai. The Mumbai team is led by a consulting project director with over 20 years of experience in LGBTQ+ research in the last decade, Humsafar Trust has implemented over 25 national- and internationally-funded research studies with reputed agencies. Humsafar Trust’s team of researchers currently has two full-time study coordinators, one full-time statistician, two full-time research associates, three full-time research assistants along with six study interviewers, virtual outreach workers, and two health workers.
The Humsafar Trust is the only LGBTQ+ organization with a DHR-registered IRB and an FWA certificate. Humsafar Trust holds research dissemination meetings every other year to which government officials, HIV program funding agencies, academia, policy and key decision makers, and community members are invited. During these meetings, Humsafar Trust shares results with these stakeholders, addresses any queries, builds rapport with agencies, and keeps the community informed to increase awareness of HIV issues. These meetings are open invitation to the community, and usually have about 150 participants, with half of the attendees’ stakeholders and the other half community members. Over the last decade, findings from Humsafar Trust’s research studies have contributed toward providing India-specific evidence for PrEP and HIV self-testing implementation; virtual outreach for hard-to-engage MSM and TGW; and influence of anti-LGBTQ+ laws on health and safety of LGBTQ+ communities.