Unveiling the Perils: Global Insights into Gender, Violence, and LGBTQI+ Erasure

"My identity could be revealed, people can say whatever they want online without consequences. Hormone replacement therapy is illegal here so I’m just waiting to find a way to get out of here."

- Anonymous respondent to the 2024 F&M Global Barometers LGBTQI+ Perception Index from Iraq, self-identified as a transgender woman and lesbian

A Global Call to Action Against Gender-Based Violence

As we initiate the campaign for the 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence, it serves as a critical reminder that gender-based violence (GBV), both online and offline, impacts individuals across the gender spectrum. New research from the Franklin & Marshall (F&M) Global Barometers and the report titled "A Growing Backlash: Quantifying the Experiences of LGBTQI+ People, 2022-2024" highlight disturbing trends of diminishing safety for LGBTQI+ individuals worldwide.

These trends underscore the pressing need to combat movements against gender equality and the alarming erosion of credible human rights data and reporting. Understanding the lived realities of all people, particularly LGBTQI+ individuals, is paramount in the fight against GBV, alongside the rights that are continually under siege.

Tracking Declining Safety

The partnership between USAID and Franklin & Marshall College has expanded research efforts to better understand GBV against LGBTQI+ persons through the F&M Global Barometers. These barometers track the legal rights and lived experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals across 204 countries and territories from 2011 to the present. With over a decade of data, these tools illuminate the progression and regression of rights as well as the discrepancies between legal protections and actual experiences of discrimination and violence.

The latest data reveals troubling trends, highlighting that fear and violence are deeply gendered phenomena affecting anyone who challenges traditional gender norms.

The Diminishing Safety of LGBTQI+ Individuals

Nearly two-thirds of countries have experienced a decline in their scores on the F&M Global Barometers LGBTQI+ Perception Index (GBPI) between 2022 and 2024, reflecting a five percent drop in global safety scores over just two years. Alarmingly, almost 70 percent of countries received an "F" grade on the GBPI, indicating a global crisis in actual human rights protections for LGBTQI+ people.

This backsliding on LGBTQI+ human rights is occurring globally, even in politically stable, established democracies that have human rights protections in place. Western Europe and the Americas have shown the greatest declines in GBPI scores, at 74 and 67 percent respectively. Transgender individuals globally report the highest likelihood of experiencing violence, with transwomen and intersex people expressing the greatest levels of feeling very unsafe or unsafe simply for being who they are.

The Taboos Surrounding Gender Equality

Previously, under a different administration, efforts were made to establish an LGBTQI+ inclusive strategy across the government to prevent and respond to GBV. This strategy highlighted unique forms of GBV against LGBTQI+ persons, such as so-called ‘corrective’ rape related to sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, and ‘conversion’ therapy practices aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s gender identity or expression. These endeavors have helped connect the dots, revealing that LGBTQI+ violence stems from the same roots of inequality and power imbalances as the broader spectrum of GBV against women and girls.

The Vanishing Crucial Data and Accountability

Data crucial for understanding GBV against LGBTQI+ persons is also disappearing. The dismantling of USAID led to the loss of vital research and reports on LGBTQI+ rights. Earlier this year, the US Department of State removed LGBTQI+ reporting from its annual Human Rights Reports, which were vital for civil society, researchers, and policymakers to track abuses and advocate for change.

When violence isn’t documented, it becomes easier for governments to deny its existence, making it harder to hold them accountable. However, when accountability systems are effective, governments and civil society can use data in international forums such as the UN Universal Periodic Review, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Sustainable Development Goals to assess progress and compliance and push for improved protection measures.

All is not lost if other countries and donors step up to support independent data collection and reporting efforts like the F&M Global Barometers and other academic and civil society monitoring. These efforts are crucial in the fight against GBV: the data helps illuminate the path to safety, equality, and justice, provided we are courageous enough to embrace the truth and visibility of those most marginalized and impacted.

Jay Gilliam (he/him) was the Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator at USAID and serves on the Global Outreach Advisory Council of the F&M Global Barometers.

Susan Dicklitch-Nelson (she/her) is the founder of the F&M Global Barometers and a Professor of Government at Franklin & Marshall College.