OutRight Action International has released a pioneering report, “Vulnerability Amplified: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTIQ people”, documenting effects of the pandemic on LGBTIQ people. While the COVID-19 pandemic leaves no country and no individual unaffected, drawing on almost 60 rapid research interviews conducted with LGBTIQ people in all regions of the world, the report overwhelmingly shows that the challenges faced by LGBTIQ people as a result of the virus and surrounding containment measures are specific and amplified compared to the broader population.

The specific challenges faced by LGBTIQ people identified in OutRight’s new report are:

• Devastation of livelihoods – rising food and shelter insecurity resulting from job loss, and economic fall out as a result of over-representation of LGBTIQ people in the informal sector and broad employment discrimination;
• Disruptions in accessing health care, including crucial HIV medication and gender affirming treatments, and reluctance to seek health care due to discrimination, stigma and refusal of services experienced by LGBTIQ people even outside a pandemic;
• Elevated risk of domestic and family violence – the most prevalent form of violence faced by LGBTIQ people on a day-to-day basis is heightened in circumstances of lockdowns, curfews and lack of access to support services and community resources;
• Social isolation and increased anxiety which are further heightened by being cut off from chosen families and the LGBTIQ community;
• Scapegoating, societal discrimination and stigma – there is an unfortunate history of LGBTIQ people being blamed for emergency situations, leading to further stigmatization, marginalization, violence and danger;
• Abuse of state power – repression, exclusion, and criminalization are all on the rise in countries prone to authoritarianism and regressive gender ideologies, with some states using the emergency situation to clamp down specifically on LGBTIQ people;
• Concerns about organizational survival – amplifying the effects even further are the impacts on LGBTIQ community organizations and spaces, which are a lifeline to countless LGBTIQ people. Organizations now face an uncertain future with funding cuts, lockdowns, and having to shift activities on line while calls for direct, practical support are on the rise. 

Executive Director of OutRight Action International, Jessica Stern, comments:

“COVID-19 and the surrounding containment measures affect everyone, everywhere. But those most marginalized feel it more. Even in the absence of a pandemic, LGBTIQ people experience higher levels of discrimination, violence and deprivation around the world. Now we are at a heightened risk of domestic and family abuse, we lack access to crucial HIV and gender affirming medication, get scapegoated for the pandemic, and excluded from relief efforts, while being cut off from LGBTIQ organizations and support networks. For us the situation is dire. I fear how many LGBTIQ people will lose their lives because of the amplified vulnerability we face. We need immediate action from governments, the UN, and the philanthropic sector to prevent an LGBTIQ humanitarian crisis.”

The results of the research report issued today are reinforced by initial data from applications to OutRight’s COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund. Within a month of opening for applications, OutRight received over 1,500 requests for help from LGBTIQ organizations across the world, the vast majority requesting resources to alleviate food and shelter insecurity. As ever, LGBTIQ organizations are being called on to step in where other institutions fail to safeguard LGBTIQ people’s health, safety and wellness. 

Since the start of the pandemic OutRight has shifted our work to COVID-19 response, launching the emergency fund, a webinar series, story-sharing through OutRight TV, and the research released today.

OutRight Action International works at a global, regional and national level to eradicate the persecution, inequality and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people face around the world. From its offices in 7 countries and headquarters in New York, OutRight builds capacity of LGBTIQ movements, documents human rights violations, advocates for inclusion and equality, and holds leaders accountable for protecting the rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere. OutRight has recognized consultative status at the United Nations.