Our new paper with the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) and Overseas Development Institute (ODI Global) examines how LGBTQIA+ local groups in conflict settings meet the acute and unmet needs of their communities, how international actors (INGOs and UN agencies), don’t, and the surprisingly straightforward, safe, and legal pathways to building LGBTQIA+ Inclusion into humanitarian responses.
Key messages
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning, transgender, intersex and asexual/ace (LGBTQIA+) people face acute risks in everyday life, which are compounded by the onset of armed violence and intersect with other forms of marginalisation.
- In contexts of conflict, LGBTQIA+ organisations frequently meet humanitarian needs by relying on informal mutual aid, trusted peer networks, discreet referrals and solidarity to deliver protection and other services.
- These activities are not a substitute for formal humanitarian action, but they are often the only viable delivery channel for people who face barriers to mainstream assistance including criminalisation and stigma.
- This work is often invisible to (and therefore unsupported by) the formal system, and as a result there remain major gaps in the protection of LGBTQIA+ people in conflict settings – gaps that are widening in the face of significant fiscal and political pressure.
- The risks of working with LGBTQIA+ organisations in restrictive settings are often over-estimated and assumed. Humanitarians should engage in contextual analysis and consultation with LGBTQIA+ organisations to understand the actual risks and find solutions to mitigate and overcome them, as they already do in other contexts and with other actors.
- International humanitarian actors are often unaware that LGBTQIA+ organisations exist at all in the settings where they work. These organisations are generally excluded from humanitarian needs assessment, response planning, vulnerability-based targeting and other decision-making. LGBTQIA+ organisations must be included in humanitarian coordination structures – and any risks assessed, mitigated and overcome, as before.
- International humanitarian actors can work hand-in-hand with LGBTQIA+ organisations in conflict settings by resourcing organisations appropriately, integrating them into coordination mechanisms and platforms, acknowledging the acute risks faced by LGBTQIA+ people in conflict, and undertaking contextualised and consultative risk analyses. Humanitarian organisations must become more inclusive and speak openly, whenever safe to do so, about their efforts and the key role of LGBTQIA+ organisations in achieving effective, community-led protection.
Written by Clare Brown, Leen Fouad, Megan Daigle