What are the systematic needs andexperiences of LGBTQ humanitarian workers?

Abstract: This thesis is the product of the author’s personal experience as a gay person working in the humanitarian sector who has experience of the challenges faced in countries of conflict and in countries where the rights of LGBTQ people are not assured. LGBTQ people have specific needs that are documented through research, highlighting the risks they face while working in high risk locations. With such limitations in the way that LGBTQ people are supported in the field, or in their home nations, with particular relevance to religiously supported heteronormativity which is relevent especially given the particular needs and concerns that LGBTQ people face in everyday life, these issues are exacerbated in conflict or hazardous settings. To establish the experiences of LGBTQ people, semi structured qualitative interviews have been used to illicit nuanced details from differing LGBTQ perspectives to provide some supportive insight into the conditions that individuals work in. These interviews were triangulated against the current data that exists, and an online quantitative and qualitative survey which investigated in more specificity the experiences of LGBTQ people and what support mechanisms would benefit them. Motivations, experience, health implications and support to LGBT staff are discussed from the point of view of LGBTQ staff, represented as much as possible by individuals of varying gender, sexual orientation, and race. The findings are used to provide recommendations for what agencies can do to provide a level of support to their own LGBTQ staff, a concept for which there are still significant gaps in literature, data, and practice.