Services and Programmes
HIV and STI Testing, Treatment and Counselling
At the Safe Space, Equals offers high-quality, confidential and affordable HIV and STI testing and counselling. Current tests available are: HIV rapid test, HIV delayed test, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, HTLV-1&2 and Hepatitis B and C. At increments throughout the year, Equals also offers free HIV and STI testing in partnership with the Ross University School of Medicine.
HIV rapid test results are returned in 20 minutes, while results from the other tests usually take up to 3 weeks depending on the lab workload and supplies. Additionally, Equals offers confidential and patient-centered HIV and STI treatment and counselling following positive test results.
Please check our Booking Page to see when testing is next available.
Drop In Center
The Safe Space is a drop-in center where members of the LGBTIQ+ community can feel safe and free to be themselves. The Safe Space is in a discrete location which is not widely shared. Contact us for directions.
The Safe Space is open Mondays to Fridays 10am-6pm and offers services and some amenities to the community free of cost. The amenities include a full kitchen, desks, couches, a stocked bookshelf, wifi, computer access and a TV.
Gender Affirming Care
Equals offers gender affirming care for transgender, non-binary and other gender-diverse/gender-expansive persons who wish to access hormone treatment to aid them in their transition through referral to the Barbados Family Planning Association or via our on-call Doctor.
Please contact us directly to access this service as appointment slots are determined by the availability of the Barbados Family Planning Association or our on-call Doctor
General Clinic
On select days, there are high-quality low-cost Doctor Clinics at the Safe Space. The types of services the doctor can provide include but are not limited to: General Checkups, HIV/STI testing and Pap Smears.
At intervals throughout the year, Equals also partners with the Ross University School of Medicine to offer free Doctor Clinics.
Please check our Booking Page to see when the Doctor Clinics are next available
You can also contact us for a referral to a sensitised Doctor
PrEP
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can be taken by all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. PrEP is a course of anti-HIV drugs taken by HIV-negative people (i.e. people who don’t have HIV) to reduce their risk of HIV infection. If you become exposed to HIV but have been taking PrEP correctly, you have up to a 96% chance of resistance to HIV infection. The drugs in PrEP stop the HIV
virus from replicating in your body and should be seriously considered by anyone who is sexually active and engages in unprotected penetrative sex, anyone who takes drugs intravenously (with a needle), and sex workers.
Psycho-social Counselling and Support
Equals is able to both offer free and paid psychosocial counselling.
The free counselling is offered in a collaboration with the Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA) and is strictly for LGBTQ+ persons who cannot afford to pay. Sessions can take place in-person at BFPA’s premises or virtually. Contact us directly to arrange these sessions.
Equals also offers paid individual or couples counselling via our in-house counsellor, and periodically offers small group Art Therapy in partnership with Bloom Creative Healing. Please check our Booking Page to see when paid psychosocial counselling and Art Therapy is next available or
Contact Us.
Human Rights Violation Reporting
Equals uses the Shared Incident Database (SID) to record cases of human rights violations. SID is a regional tool developed by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) used all over the region and has been used to collect information on cases of Stigma and Discrimination against marginalised groups. This tool is essential in advocacy efforts and securing funding as well as providing
an opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community members to track violations against them. In the same-sex intimacy decriminalisation case, Equals provided data from SID to the High Court and that evidence helped secure the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex acts between persons above the age of consent in Barbados.
If you would like to report a case of human rights violation or discrimination against you or another person (which you can do anonymously), please get in contact with us via email at info@equalsbarbados.com or by filling out this form (leave space for inclusion of form that we will create).
Community Event
Equals also understand the importance of creating safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community in Barbados so we host regular community events such as limes, parties, balls, health fairs and of course Pride events among others.
Check out our News & Events page and follow us on social media to keep up to date.