2016 Reports

Closing Protection Gaps: Evaluation of ORAM’s Training Program on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity for Refugee Professionals

Pizmony-Levy, Oren

Over the past decade, national and transnational organizations have advanced the cause of individuals who seek international protection from persecution based on their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE). To help actualize the vision of international protection from SOGIE-based persecution, the Organization for Refuge, Asylum, and Migration (ORAM) developed and designed a two-day workshop for professionals. This workshop, which is titled Sexual and Gender Minorities: What Refugee Professionals Need to Know and Do, is intended to professionalize frontline workers for engagement with and protection of refugees fleeing from SOGIE-based persecution. The workshop was implemented in 13 countries: Australia, India, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Senegal, Switzerland, Trinidad, Turkey, and the United States. Several of these countries are considered to be hostile environments for LGBTI individuals.