Each year, Rainbow Railroad receives more than ten thousand requests for help from LGBTQI+ individuals facing violence and persecution worldwide. These firsthand accounts provide unparalleled insight into the urgent realities of forced displacement and the systemic barriers preventing LGBTQI+ persons from accessing safety.

Our unique data not only informs direct interventions but also strengthens global advocacy. By analyzing trends in displacement, resettlement, and protection gaps, we advance policy solutions that challenge discriminatory asylum systems, push for inclusive refugee protections, and hold governments accountable.

At a time when anti-LGBTQI+ laws are intensifying and asylum pathways are shrinking, our work underscores a critical truth: the protection of LGBTQI+ refugees is a matter of fundamental human rights. The following policy recommendations outline urgent actions that states, international organizations, and multilateral bodies must take to ensure that LGBTQI+ forcibly displaced persons are not left behind.

Our new report,  Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Relation to Forced Displacement, provides an in-depth analysis of the systemic barriers faced by LGBTQI+ forcibly displaced persons and the urgent need for policy reforms to ensure their protection. Drawing on our unique data, it outlines the escalating crisis of LGBTQI+ forced displacement and presents concrete policy recommendations for governments, international organizations, and civil society. You can download the report here.

Recommendations for states, international organizations, and multilateral bodies:

1. Strengthen partnerships with LGBTQI+ civil society by funding and supporting organizations with direct access to LGBTQI+ FDPs to enhance protection, service provision, and advocacy efforts.
2. Establish and expand dedicated LGBTQI+-specific resettlement pathways, including government-assisted and private sponsorship programs, to ensure sustainable and long-term protection solutions.
3. Develop targeted resettlement pathways for LGBTQI+ internally displaced persons (IDPs), recognizing that many remain at extreme risk within their countries of origin and require urgent solutions.
4. Implement flexible protection pathways for LGBTQI+ Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), offering both short-term emergency relocation and long-term resettlement options based on individual protection needs.
5. Hold states accountable for failing to meet international resettlement commitments and for undermining access to asylum, including through carrier sanctions and externalized border enforcement measures that disproportionately impact LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.
6. Increase funding for LGBTQI+ civil society organizations and regional networks to strengthen in-transit support systems and develop durable South-South resettlement pathways.
7. Appoint and empower Special Envoys on LGBTQI+ issues within key states and multilateral bodies to coordinate international responses to LGBTQI+ forced displacement.
8. Strengthen crisis response mechanisms by integrating LGBTQI+ protection into broader humanitarian frameworks, ensuring that LGBTQI+ FDPs are not overlooked in emergency response planning.
9. Expand multilateral coordination efforts, including investing in mechanisms such as the Queer Forced Displacement Initiative (QFDI), to enhance knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and policy development across international actors.
10. Ensure meaningful participation of LGBTQI+ persons with lived experiences of forced displacement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of domestic and cross-border policies affecting LGBTQI+ FDPs, prioritizing intersectional and community-led approaches.Read the full report Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Relation to Forced Displacement here.