Invitation: Survey aims to learn the realities of LGBTQI lives worldwide

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Gay-friendly researchers are reaching out to LGBTQI community members with the goal of creating an accurate account of what LGBTQI life is like in each of 204 nations worldwide. To accomplish that, they are inviting LGBTQI people worldwide to take a survey about their lived realities.

**In the latest F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights in 2019, top-ranked countries were Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Malta and Uruguay. Dozens of nations were ranked “F”.**

The survey, called the LGBTQI Perception Index survey — is available in four languages: Arabic, English, French, and Spanish.

Its organizers state: “LGBTQI rights vary widely across the world. According to our research, 62% of the world is still persecuting towards the LGBTQI community. In many cases, there may be a discrepancy between LGBTQI-inclusive legislation and the daily lived reality of LGBTQI people. This survey will help researchers, activists, and policy-makers understand the lived realities of LGBTQI people everywhere.”

Survey responses are anonymous and confidential.

The deadline for completing the survey is Sept. 15. LGBTQI community members are urged not only to complete the survey but also to share it widely.

**Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, government professor and founder of the F&M Global Barometers.**

The survey is sponsored by the Council for Global Equality and researchers who assemble the F&M Global Barometers about human rights worldwide.

Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, founder of F&M Global Barometers, is a professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn. Her research on human rights has led to the creation of the F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights and the F&M Global Barometer of Transgender Rights, which evaluate and rate countries’ human rights records on the basis of data from multiple sources, including newspaper articles and reports from the U.S. State Department, ILGA, Transgender Europe and Human Dignity Trust.

The LGBTQI Perception Index is aimed at going beyond those rankings by adding grassroots-level descriptions of the lived experiences of LGBQI community members.