International LGBTQI+ rights

The Issue

Rainbow Railroad monitors conditions in the over 70 countries that criminalize same-sex intimacy. For a detailed look at those countries, see ILGA’s state-sponsored report on homophobia.

Sexual Orientation Laws in the World Map. Created by ILGA.org

GLOBAL

• “The Global divide on homosexuality persists,” PEW Research Centre, 2020.

Below is a list of media reports in relevant regions of our work.

CARIBBEAN

• “Jamaica should repeal homophobic laws, rights tribunal rules,” The Guardian, 2020.
• “Paradise Lost: The Plight of LGBT People in the Eastern Caribbean,” Human Rights Watch, 2018
• “In Caribbean, vibrant gay rights movement fights homophobia,” RFI, 2019
• “Lawsuits in four Caribbean countries challenge colonial-era sodomy laws,” Washington Blade, 2019
• “The facade of LGBTQ progress in Cuba,” Xtra Magazine, 2020.
• “Lawyer and gay-rights advocate says homophobia is ‘pervasive’ in Caribbean,” Global News, 2019
• “Battleground Barbados: LGBT activists face off against North American homophobes in the Caribbean,” Xtra Magazine, 2017

UNITED STATES

• “How Leading on LGBTIQ Rights Abroad Could Restore U.S. Credibility,“ The Advocate, 2021.
• “DHS Statement on the Suspension of New Enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols Program,” Department of Homeland Security, 2021.
• “Biden’s ambitious LGBT agenda poises him to be nation’s most pro-equality president in history,” Washington Post, 2021.

EASTERN EUROPE

• “EU To Sanction Two Chechens Over Repression Of Dissent, LGBT People,” Radio Free Europe, 2021. 
• “After Going ‘Free of L.G.B.T.,’ a Polish Town Pays a Price,” The New York Times, 2021.
• “EU declared ‘LGBT freedom zone’ in response to Poland’s ‘LGBT-free zones’,” BBC News, 2021.
• “European Union tries to counter Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. Wave in Hungary and Poland,” New York Times, 2020.
• “Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unions,” Pew Research Center, 2019
• “Being LGBTI in Eastern Europe: Progress, drawbacks, recommendations,” United Nations Development Programme
• “LGBTQI Rights in the Balkans: A Perpetual Struggle,” Inter Press Service, 2019
• “Old problems, new prospects: LGBT situation in Ukraine in 2019,” LGBT Human Rights Nash Mir Center, 2020
• “Can the Czech Republic Tear Down Europe’s Rainbow Curtain?,” Foreign Policy, 2019
• “Homophobia in Poland still deeply entrenched,” Deutsche Welle, 2020
• “Rising populism stokes homophobic hate speech across Europe – rights group,” Reuters, 2020

MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA

• “‘Kill Them, They Sodomites’ Police Violence Against LGBT People in Tunisia,” Human Rights Watch, 2020.
• “‘Don’t Punish Me for Who I Am’: Systemic Discrimination Against Transgender Women in Lebanon,” Human Rights Watch, 2019
• “Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orienation and Gender Identity in Iraq,” OutRight Action International, 2019
• “North Africa seen as unsafe for LGBT people: rights groups,” Deutsche Welle, 2019
• “Mass Execution in Saudi Arabia Kills 5 Linked to Homosexual Acts,” Out, 2019
• “Iran’s Foreign Minister Defends Execution of Gays,” Advocate, 2019

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

• “LGBT persecution on the rise in Cameroon, Human Rights Watch says,” Thompson Reuters, 2021
• “Anti-gay uproar after Ghana opens its first LGBT+ community centre,” Thompson Reuters, 2021
• “The British Empire’s Homophobia Lives On in Former Colonies,” The Atlantic, 2019
• “Mapping anti-gay laws in Africa,” Amnesty International, 2018
• “Why is homosexuality still taboo in many African countries?,” Deutsche Welle, 2019
• “Globalizing Hatred,” Harvard Political Review, 2019
• “Shining a light on trans women’s needs in sub-Sarahan Africa,” Avert, 2020
• “Botswana: High Court Strikes Down Sodomy Laws,” Human Rights Watch, 2019
• “Kenya court upholds ban on gay sex in major setback for activists,” The Guardian, 2019

SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA

• “Amid Debate Over LGBT Rights, Uzbek Authorities Victim-Blame Attacked Activist,” The Diplomat, 2021
• “Attack on blogger drives Uzbek gay community underground,” Thompson Reuters, 2021
• “Life in the Closet: The LGBT Community in Central Asia,” The Diplomat, 2019
• “What Does India’s Transgender Community Want?,” The Diplomat, 2020
• “LGBTQ people to be counted in Nepal’s census for the first time,” The Christian Science Monitor, 2020
• “The Missing Piece in Uzbekistan’s Reform Puzzle,” The Diplomat, 2019
• “One year after landmark ruling for LGBT+ rights in India, challenges persist,” Reuters, 2019

EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

• “How Trans Men and Women Fight for Equality in order to Live Fearless Lives in the Philippines,” Philippines Tatler, 2021.
• “Indonesia urged to release nine men arrested and charged for ‘organizing gay party’,” The Independent, 2020.
• “Being LGBT in Asia and the Pacific,” United Nations Development Programme, 2020
• “Being LGBT In Southeast Asia: Stories Of Abuse, Survival And Tremendous Courage,” The Huffington Post, 2015
• “Denied Work: An Audit On Job Discrimination On The Basis Of Gender Identity In South-East Asia,” Asia Pacific Transgender Network, 2018
• “Tolerance but not inclusion: A national survey on experiences of discrimination and social attitudes towards LGBT people in Thailand,” United Nations Development Programme, 2019
• “China’s Complicated LGBT Movement,” The Diplomat, 2018
• “Why is China raising the prospect of same-sex marriage?,” NBC News, 2020
• “Advocates hope Taiwan’s same-sex marriage decision will spark ‘ripple effect’ across Asia,” The Washington Post, 2019