Promoting Inclusion: Eight Strategies for Protecting LGBTQI+ Migrants in the Caribbean | IOM Blog

Migration is a complex phenomenon that presents risks and challenges for those who experience it. However, this process becomes even more complicated for LGBTQI+ migrants, as they face additional difficulties. These obstacles can be structural in nature, such as the lack of policies and laws that safeguard their rights, or cultural in nature, including discrimination, gender-based violence, and entrenched prejudices in many societies. 

These complexities mean that LGBTQI+ people have specific protection and assistance requirements during their migration journeys, in addition to the general needs they share with other groups of migrants. 

In Caribbean countries, for example, a study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM, 2023) has identified six essential needs of this diverse population group, ranging from obtaining identity documents that match their gender, to security, protection, employment, housing, access to health services, and legal assistance. 

Below are eight essential recommendations presented in the IOM document for Caribbean countries to develop policies that effectively address the protection and assistance needs of LGBTQI+ migrants. 

• 1. Updating legislation on the rights of LGBTQI+ people 

The IOM study highlighted the need to update the legislation of many Caribbean countries regarding the protection of the rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, as they are based on outdated and colonial laws that discriminate against and even criminalize people with diverse sexual orientations, a situation that does not reflect the current context and the perspective of governments on human rights. This update must be in harmony with international and regional human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity norms and conventions, as well as strategic frameworks such as Agenda 2030 and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. 

• 2. Training of public officials 

A significant proportion of people who participated in the IOM study expressed mistrust of the state and its representatives, considering that they have often been ignored, ridiculed, and even victims of physical and verbal violence when approaching institutions to seek advice and guidance on migration procedures or legal advice. In this sense, it is crucial to train public officials who are in direct contact with migrants in topics including human rights, gender identity, and sexual diversity. 

• 3. Focused responses 

The vulnerabilities of LGBTQI+ migrant people are intersectional and determined by interrelated structural and social factors. Therefore, it is important to understand and individually address the needs and challenges they face. Although protection provisions can be useful, it is recommended to manage a differentiated approach that takes into account the particularities and needs of each LGBTQI+ migrant person. 

• 4. Citizenship and Legal Identity 

Establishing legal procedures that allow LGBTQI+ migrant people to access identity documents that match their gender is fundamental. This is especially important for transgender migrant people, as the discrepancy between their gender identity and the information on their birth certificates and identity documents can make it difficult to obtain regular status or citizenship. 

• 5. Housing 

Although access to fair housing options can be problematic for migrant people in general, especially for those in irregular status, LGBTQI+ migrant people face additional challenges related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In some Caribbean countries, situations have been identified in which LGBTQI+ migrant people are victims of aggression, mistreatment, and abuse by house owners. Strengthening the social housing system through the creation of programmes that specifically target LGBTQI+ people is of vital importance. 

• 6. Employment 

Migrant individuals in the LGBTQI+ community often find themselves forced to turn to sex work due to the barriers they face in finding formal employment, which increases their vulnerability to discrimination and stigma, especially for trans individuals. This also increases their risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and being victims of assault and exploitation. In this regard, it is essential to implement programmes that address these obstacles and facilitate access to safer forms of work and encourage the development of their skills. 

• 7. Civil Society Participation

Civil society organizations are fundamental in supporting and defending the rights of LGBTQI+ migrant individuals. Often these organizations cover the attention and protection needs that government institutions cannot provide, providing access to legal, educational, and healthcare services as well as economic support. Migrant individuals trust these organizations more, making them a key ally in the implementation of specific policies and programmes to address their needs. 

• 8. Information Collection 

While information collection can potentially put LGBTQI+ migrant individuals in danger by making them easier to identify and attack, it is important for governments to be able to prioritize and collect information on migration flows and the specific needs of LGBTQI+ migrant individuals. Similarly, it is important to define standardized data protection protocols that ensure informants are not re-victimized. 

These practical recommendations based on human rights principles are a strategic input for governments, institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant actors in the Caribbean to strengthen their work in the development of inclusive migration policies and regulations for individuals in the LGBTQI+ community. This also contributes to the achievement of the goals and objectives of Agenda 2030 and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, as well as the commitment to leave no one behind.