'Great Expectations, Harsh Realities' - Exploratory Study into the Plight of LGBTI+ Refugees in Thailand

The circumstances and condition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI+) refugees in Thailand is not well researched, even by stakeholders who work with refugees and LGBTI+ communities. This lack of information makes these communities invisible and hard to understand. As a result, stakeholders may be prone to assume that LGBTI+ refugees do not exist and thus ignore their specific needs and vulnerabilities. This may impact the application of protections and provision of services that are unique to the refugees’ sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

Equal Asia Foundation conducted desk research and a series of interviews with United Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), individual contractors and affected communities, to understand the lived experiences of LGBTI+ refugees in Thailand and stakeholders’ programme strategies to address their specific needs. The objective was to identify potential protection gaps and develop field-based tools to enhance the identification and protection of LGBTI refugees in the country. We recommend that the findings of this report should be further supplemented by more rigorous research and informed by deeper community consultations.