Your data, your choice.

How we collect, use and protect personal information, and how to ask us to remove a photo or your details.

Our commitment

Privacy can be a matter of safety.

For LGBTI people in Eswatini, being identified without consent can put jobs, families and safety at risk. We take that seriously.

ESGM is committed to handling personal information in line with Eswatini’s Data Protection Act, 2022 (Act No. 5 of 2022) and the Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act, 2022 (Act No. 6 of 2022). This page explains, in plain language, what we collect, why, and what you can ask us to do.

Your image, your choice

Ask us to remove a photo or your details

If you appear in a photo or video on our website or social media, or we hold information about you, you can ask us to remove it, correct it, or tell you what we hold. You do not have to give a reason.

Email your request

The email goes to info@eswatiniminorities.org. Tell us where the photo or information appears (a link or a short description) and how to reach you. We aim to take a photo down within 5 working days and to reply to other requests within 30 days. You can also call +268 7855 3910.

What we collect

What we hold, and why.

Membership and forms

Our membership form asks for your full name, date of birth, occupation, email address, region and place of residence. We ask for your date of birth only to make sure every member is 18 or over. We use these details to manage your membership and invite you to activities. We no longer ask for National ID numbers. To cancel, we ask for your email address and date of birth so we can find the right membership.

Photos and videos

We take photos and videos at our events to show our work and celebrate our community. Tell the organisers if you do not want to be photographed. We will not knowingly publish an image of anyone who has asked not to appear, and we do not name people in photos without their agreement.

Messages and support

When you email, call or message us, we use your details to reply and to support you. Requests for support are handled in confidence.

This website

You do not need an account to use our website. We keep anonymous visitor statistics, such as page views. Facebook, YouTube and Google Maps content on some pages may set their own cookies, under their own privacy policies.

How we protect it

We collect only what we need, and use it only for the reason we collected it
Only authorised staff and board members can see members' details, and only for ESGM work
We never sell personal information or share it for marketing
Reports to funders and partners use anonymised, combined figures, never names
Attendance records stay securely with ESGM. If a funder must verify an activity, we share only what is needed, in confidence
When you cancel your membership, you are removed from our member list straight away and your details are permanently deleted after 30 days
If a data breach could put you at risk, we will tell you and the Data Protection Authority as soon as possible
We protect our accounts and systems under our IT policy

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act you can ask us to:

See the personal information we hold about you
Correct it if it is wrong or out of date
Have it deleted, including photos of you
Object to how we use it, or withdraw your consent
Complain to the Eswatini Communications Commission, the Data Protection Authority

Eswatini Communications Commission ↗

Online safety

Cybercrime and online abuse.

The Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act makes it an offence to access, interfere with or misuse computer systems and data without permission.

If someone hacks, impersonates or harasses ESGM or our members online, or shares members’ images to harm them, we will document it and support you to report it. Please do not share photos of other members without their permission.

Being harassed online?

Questions about your data?

Write to us with “Privacy” in the subject line. We will update this page as our practice and the law develop. Last updated October 2026.

Email us