Safe Spaces Scoping Project
In April 2026, we embarked on a scoping exercise with individuals from communities facing marginalization to explore and identify what a safe and accessible community-led space could look like in the Klang Valley. Over the one year project period, we will bring together 10 individuals with different lived experiences to co-design ideas, identify community needs, assess potential spaces in the Klang Valley, regionally and globally, and make recommendations for a future community-led space. This project is part of a larger supporting community-led interventions work by Diode.
Why this project?
Community-led responses are critical particularly as they are grounded in understanding of needs and challenges, built on trust, creates knowledge and skill building, and shifts power, decision-making and ownership to persons with lived experiences and the most impacted. Over the years, marginalized communities in Malaysia (such as displaced communities, persons with disabilities, and indigenous persons) have been responding to needs on the ground, while also coordinating advocacy efforts to influence policy and decision making. Supporting and strengthening these existing community-led responses can be transformative as communities take ownership of solutions that can have lasting impact on individual lives. Community-led responses particularly in providing safe spaces for affected persons have been significantly impacted with closure or reduction of programs leading to gaps in services and response. At the same time, communities are seeing an escalation of violence in country of origin, forced displacement, reduced opportunities for livelihoods, more frequent raids and enforcement by Malaysian authorities, and growing complex health needs particularly among children and the elderly. The project hopes to understand, build-on, and support community-led responses through a scoping exercise, capacity development, and advocacy efforts.
What does the project aim to do?
The project aims to understand community needs related to having a safe space, what a safe and accessible space looks like for a community, and how these spaces can or will be used. The scoping exercise will also identify availability of such spaces in the Klang Valley, assessing readiness of such spaces to be used or identifying spaces that can be tailored to meet community needs, and understand the possibility of an integrated community hub (i.e. accessible to anyone regardless of status, gender, or age). It is envisioned that establishing a safe and accessible community space will also support community-led responses and cohesion.
Project Approach and outcomes?
The project will be implemented in the Klang Valley (Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya areas) due to the highest number of concentration of communities affected by migration and other marginalized groups, the concentration of civil society resources and spaces in the state and based on the current community partnerships and network of Diode that is primarily based in the Klang Valley. The scoping will be carried out using participatory tools and will be directed and led by the co-designers with lived experience, with Diode providing support.
While exact project outcomes will be determined by the team collectively, possible outcomes will include understanding community needs, developing a common understanding of safe space, developing tools to assess safe spaces, building capacity and knowledge of the team, identifying safe spaces in the region, and making recommendations on the possibility of a safe and inclusive space for communities.
Project Status
The project is currently being implemented and is expected to be completed in April 2027.
Stay tuned for more updates!