Led by Strap
The Society of Trans Women of the Philippines (STRAP) is the pioneer and longest-running support group and human rights organization for and of transpinays in the Philippines. Founded in 2002, STRAP advances dignity, self-determination, community support, and trans leadership.
From Remembrance to Action
Project Kierra is a national initiative of the Society of Trans Women of the Philippines (STRAP) that aims to strengthen a coordinated, transpinay-led response to transfemicide and anti-trans violence in the Philippines.
Implemented from September 2025 to present with support from the International Trans Fund (ITF), the project pushes for legal and policy reform, establishes community protection systems and survivor-centered support, and facilitates capacity-building and political education for trans women and transfeminine leaders nationwide.
Project Kierra carries the call to end transfemicide and advance transpinay safety through collective action, accountability, and community empowerment.
Why Kierra
Project Kierra is named in honor of Kierra, a transpinay whose transfemicide case was amplified by STRAP in 2025.
Her name symbolizes both remembrance and resistance. It reflects the lived realities faced by many trans women in the Philippines while affirming the urgent need for justice, protection, and systemic change.
In 2025, STRAP documented and raised alarm over cases of transfemicide involving Shalani, Ren, Kierra, and Ali, and called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the killings and publicly address violence targeting trans communities.
As these incidents revealed increasing risks faced by transpinays, STRAP recognized the need for a stronger national response led by transgender women themselves. Project Kierra was developed to help address this gap through advocacy, protection mechanisms, leadership-building, and coordinated community action.
What We’re Working Toward
To establish a transpinay-led national response to transfemicide and anti-trans violence through legal reform advocacy, survivor-centered protection mechanisms, and strengthened community leadership.
Our Strategic Objective
Advance Legal & Policy Reform
To strengthen protection and recognition of trans women in national laws and policies.
Build a Legal Assistance & Protection Network
Provides immediate and sustained support to victims, survivors, and at-risk transpinays.
Strengthen Transpinay Leadership
Strengthen capacity and political education of trans leaders and advocates nationwide for sustained movement-building and human rights engagement.
How Project Kierra Works
Legal & Policy Reform Advocacy
Dialogues and consultations with government institutions, legislators, feminist groups, LGBTQIA+ leaders, legal groups, and human rights advocates; development of policy and research materials; and advocacy for trans-inclusive protection mechanisms and legal reforms.
Legal Assistance & Protection Network
Establishment of the Kierra Guided Protection System, engagement with referral partners, safety and protection orientations, and case support and emergency assistance for transpinays experiencing violence or threats.
Capacity-Building & Feminist Political Education
Training on Transfeminist Documentation and Justice, development of the Project Kierra Documenters’ Network, engagement with human rights mechanisms, monitoring tools, and the Transfeminist Documentation Student Internship Program.
National Advocacy & Communications
Public awareness campaigns, community storytelling and memorialization, mobilization of allies and human rights defenders, and promotion of transpinay safety and survivor-centered approaches.
Project Kierra primarily serves transpinays, transgender women, and transfeminine people across the Philippines, particularly those affected by violence, discrimination, and systemic exclusion.
What Makes
Project Kierra Distinct
Project Kierra is among the few initiatives in the Philippines that directly addresses transfemicide through a trans women-led framework.
Grounded in lived experience and community leadership, the project centers survivor safety, collective care, and accountability while building long-term systems of protection and advocacy for trans women and transfeminine communities.
By bringing together direct support, political education, policy advocacy, documentation, and movement-building, Project Kierra seeks to build sustainable and community-rooted responses to violence.
Made Possible Through Collective Support
Project Kierra is strengthened through partnerships that support its advocacy, protection, documentation, and movement-building work.
