The Road to Safety: Strengthening Protection of LGBTI Refugees in Uganda and Kenya

The Road to Safety details the steps that should be taken to address some of the most significant gaps in protection facing refugees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI). Based on research conducted in Uganda and Kenya, the report documents many of the difficulties that LGBTI refugees face in accessing the protection and services available to other refugees. In Uganda and Kenya, LGBTI refugees have often been targets of bias-motivated attacks but their ability to secure state protection and assistance is undermined by discriminatory state laws and practices. LGBTI refugees have also faced discrimination in their attempts to access services at refugee-assisting offices and many fear that their identities will be revealed to other refugees at these offices—increasing risks of harassment and violence. The report recommends that host states, the U.N. Refugee Agency, nongovernmental organizations, the United States and other states take specific steps to protect LGBTI refugees from violence, provide access to safe shelter, ensure access to resettlement and expedited resettlement, and reform a range of policies and practices to ensure access to services.