The world is facing the greatest forced displacement crisis in history. The latest report from the UNHCR estimates that more than 120 million people have been forcibly displaced. Globally, governments are shrinking access to life-saving humanitarian protection programs. An estimated 10 million LGBTQI+ people have been displaced by geopolitical crises, climate disasters, and state-sanctioned homophobia and transphobia in over 60 countries that criminalize same-sex relationships. LGBTQI+ people living at the intersections of displacement and anti-queer policies face a unique set of challenges in their journey to find safer communities. Panelists will build the context of global LGBTQI+ displacement and explore how queer communities in the United States can organize for more inclusive protections, and rise to meet the needs of LGBTQI+ newcomers who continue to arrive in the United States in search of safety, home, community, and belonging. Drawing from queer values around mutual aid and shared responsibility, panelists will explore how networks can be deployed in support of all LGBTQI+ newcomers. Panelists will include policy and relocation experts from Rainbow Railroad, Council for Global Equality, the Transgender Law Center, and community members with lived experience of forced displacement.
