LGBTI People

Unaccompanied Yemeni refugee minor Khayria Abdel Wahab sits with her hands clasped at a women-only safe house in Somaliland/Somalia.

Nobody should have to flee their home because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, in some countries, many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex (LGBTI) people face discrimination, persecution and violence on a daily basis, and often have no choice but to seek asylum elsewhere. Others are paralysed by fear and suffer in silence, further compounding their vulnerability.

At UNHCR, we work to protect LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers everywhere.

Donate now

In recent decades, the number of LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers has risen, with most qualifying as ‘members of a particular social group’ under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Today, 77 countries in the world criminalise same-sex relations and seven countries punish it with the death penalty.