Our stories: Diana

My name is Diana. I live in a government provided accommodation for asylum seekers in Southall but I'm originally from Kenya.

I fled from my country, where homosexuality is illegal and unacceptable everywhere. My family was very religious and completely opposed my sexuality. They attempted to perform exorcism/traditional healing to fix me. After going through "corrective rape", pregnancy and forced marriage, I decided to flee. By the time I got to England, I had very low self esteem and confidence because of the trauma that I had gone through.

I had come this far and I wasn't going to give up.

Say It Loud Club has helped me gain trust in the community again and I can now embrace my sexuality without fear. In one of our mentor and support sessions, Aloysius encouraged me to speak to a solicitor regarding my situation. I used to find it hard to open up about my past experiences but Say It Loud Club helped me gain courage to confront my issues. I met my solicitor during a social meeting at the Say It Loud Club and she has helped prepare my application at the Home Office and given me information that I might need to explain my claim.

I'll forever be grateful to Aloysius and the entire Say It Loud Club community.

Photographs by Dan Walker Photography and Kazi Rahman Photography