LBQ+ Research Reports Worldwide

The human rights of LGBTQI+ people have seen numerous advances globally in the past decades, with many countries across different regions adopting laws and policies that would extend fundamental human rights such as the right to privacy, marriage, non-discrimination, and health to LGBTQI+ people. International and regional human rights mechanisms have also published numerous opinions that aim to mobilize human rights treaties to benefit LGBTQI+ people globally.

Although persecution on account of sexual orientation has been grounds for asylum in the United States since 1990, and even though many lesbians throughout the world suffer discrimination and violence, lesbians account for only a small fraction of all applications for asylum based on sexual orientation. Several factors limit the number of asylum applications filed by lesbians. Cultural, social, and economic constraints affecting women generally impede lesbians’ ability to flee from their home countries.

On 13 March 2024, over 60 lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) activists from around the world participated in a strategic conversation on LBQ Advocacy and Research Priorities on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The event was co-hosted by Outright International, ILGA World, and the Global Lesbian* Coalition, a network comprising the Asia Feminist LBQ Network, Central Asian Feminist LBQT Network, EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community (EL*C), the Network of Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LESLAC), and the Southern African LBQ Women’s Network.