Barriers to Safety: LGBTQI+ Displacement Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean

LGBTQI+ people, particularly those who are visibly trans or gender non-conforming, face disproportionate risks and barriers when seeking safety. Crossing international borders, a requirement to qualify as a refugee, often presents immense challenges for those escaping violence in their home countries. We have highlighted again and again how protection strategies need to take these realities into account, as well as recognizing that LGBTQI+ people face disproportionate risks sheltering in regional transit countries. Latin America and the Caribbean are regions facing record numbers of forced displacement, including of LGBTQI+ people at risk. Data we have collected can shed light on their experiences.

Forced Displacement Trends in Latin America

In fact, many LGBTQI+ people who are at risk in Latin America are still in their own countries. Looking at requests for help received between January 1, 2022 to September 29, 2023, in Latin America 64% of requests came from people still inside their own country. Indeed, in countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, requests submitted in that time period were almost entirely in-country requests.

These statistics prompt the question of why people are staying in their own countries when they are in danger. Are people staying in their own country as a self protection mechanism? At home, they will likely have a stronger network of friends, colleagues and queer community members, they are citizens who can work legally, they already speak the language, and they know the local context which can help them avoid harm. And do transgender people in particular avoid crossing borders because being visibly gender-nonconforming makes it harder and more dangerous to cross borders at all?

With the exception of Mexico, which is a significant transit country for migrants, our Latin America data shows that the vast majority of LGBTQI+ people at risk who requested help inside their own country were experiencing community violence, family-based violence, physical assault and sexual assault. LGBTQI+ people may be at greater risk of physical harm when surrounded by family and community members who recognize them and know their LGBTQI+ identity, while those who cross borders may obtain a measure of safety in anonymity. 

Economic Hardship and Vulnerabilities in Transit

However, LGBTQI+ people at risk in Latin America who requested help after they crossed an international border and were outside their country of origin reported a higher level of concerns with lack of income due to discrimination (72% of requests expressing those concerns were from migrants/refugees rather than in-country) and homelessness (96% of requests expressing those concerns were from migrants). Among these individuals, this could indicate that although people are persecuted in their home countries where they are known to family and community members who persecute them, they are also more likely to have access to other resources and social safety nets to sustain themselves financially. However, people requesting help from inside their own country also reported high levels of employment discrimination (78% of requests expressing this concern were in-country) and suicidal ideation (86% of requests expressing this concern were in-country).

Our data seems to confirm that trans and gender nonconforming people in Latin America face greater barriers in crossing borders to leave their own countries, an essential requirement to be eligible for most resettlement programs. In Latin America, a higher proportion of transwomen (89%), gender nonconforming (80%) and gender fluid individuals (84%) submitted requests for help inside their own countries, while a lower proportion of cis men (68%), cis women (56%) and intersex people (75%) submitted requests while located inside their own countries.

Displacement Realities in the Caribbean

Based on our requests for help from LGBTQI+ people at risk in the Caribbean, we found similar trends. Many LGBTQI+ people who are at risk in the Caribbean are still in their own countries. Apart from the Dominican Republic, which is a significant transit country for Haitians and other refugees, the proportion of requests for help from in-country applicants was usually over 90% in Caribbean countries, also reflecting the challenges of leaving islands, as unlike Latin America, traversing land borders is not an option

Similarly to what we saw in requests for help in Latin America, serious protection concerns, including physical and sexual assault by community and family members, including being beaten, shot or attacked with a machete, were almost exclusively experienced by nationals of that country, with the proportion of those concerns being expressed by in-country nationals over 96%. Requests from individuals in Jamaica represented a vast majority of the protection and safety concerns expressed through request for help.

However, in contrast to Latin America, in the Caribbean, it was mainly people submitting requests from inside their own country who reported employment discrimination (88% of people expressing this concern were in-country), lack of basic needs (95%), a lack of income due to discrimination (100%) and homelessness (99%). These trends were primarily driven by requests from Jamaica, with a few people requesting help from a few other countries also experiencing these issues, particularly in Guyana, Cuba and Haiti.

Unique Challenges of Migration

In terms of SOGIESC representation, in the Caribbean an almost uniformly high level of individuals from all SOGIESC identities were still located inside their own countries when they requested help, likely due to the difficulty in leaving their islands. Intersex (86%) and agender individuals (84%) had a very slightly lower proportion of in-country nationals requesting help, while all other SOGIESC identities were more than 90% comprised of in-country requests, with transmen (100%) and cis-women (97%) having the very highest proportion of in-country requests.

Our data from Latin America and the Caribbean shows that LGBTQI+ people at risk experience significant violence and trauma inside their own countries, while facing disproportionate barriers to cross international borders to find safety. When they do cross borders, they face economic deprivation and hardship which makes it difficult to sustain themselves and undergo the long wait for possible resettlement. 

Solutions for LGBTQI+ People Experiencing Forced Displacement

Wherever possible, we find ways to relocate individuals from their countries of origin and to support individuals and organizations who are meeting these urgent needs for protection and sustenance. However, we also need to advocate with governments and refugee institutions to understand these realities, and we need to queer these systems.

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