Documenting LGBTQI+ human rights globally
What do our research team do?
ReportOUT researches, monitors, and documents human rights abuses and the development needs of LGBTQI+ people in every region of the world. Our work exposes patterns of violence, discrimination, and exclusion, and turns evidence into action.
Our Human Rights Researchers lead country-specific and thematic projects, working at the intersection of law, policy, lived experience, and international human rights standards. From state-led repression to emerging global trends, our research strengthens advocacy, informs campaigns, and supports accountability.
We actively collaborate with activists, organisations, and movements on the ground. If you are interested in partnering with us on research, visit our Research Partnership page to learn more. All partnerships are guided by capacity, safety considerations, and alignment with ReportOUT’s strategic priorities.
Explore our past and upcoming research below.
Our United Nations Research
At ReportOUT, we regularly submit evidence-based research to the United Nations to ensure the lived experiences and rights of LGBTQI+ people are heard at the highest global level.
Our briefings and reports feed into the work of UN human rights mechanisms, including the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and other Special Mandates, to inform international policymakers and strengthen accountability. To date, our team has submitted a number reports to UN bodies and we have seen our work cited in numerous final publications across three UN forums, with every submission successfully registered and considered.
Our UN research tackles critical human rights issues affecting LGBTQI+ communities worldwide, from forced displacement and political exclusion to extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and trafficking, and the lingering impacts of colonialism on queer lives.
Explore our full collection of UN submissions below and read the evidence shaping global human rights debates.
New
OUT in Nigeria:
Queering Democracy
OUT in Nigeria captures a year of deep, on-the-ground collaboration between ReportOUT and our Nigerian partner CHEVS.
Using a powerful mix of qualitative and quantitative research, we examine how LGBTQI+ people navigate, and reshape, democratic life in Nigeria. The study takes a wide, unapologetic lens: from voting and working within political systems, to professional activism, digital advocacy, and public protest.
This research exposes the realities of queer political participation in a hostile environment, and highlights the strategies, courage, and creativity LGBTQI+ Nigerians use to claim visibility, influence, and democratic space despite systemic exclusion.
OUT in Mexico:
What Cannot Be Named, Does Not Exist
LGBTQI+ populations in Mexico face multiple, overlapping forms of violence and persecution in both public and private life.
In collaboration with Mexican LGBTQI+ equality organisation Contramapeo, ReportOUT designed and delivered a nationwide survey centring the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ people across the country.
The findings underpin OUT in Mexico: Lo que no se nombra, no existe (“What cannot be named, does not exist”, May 2025). The report lays bare the disturbing, everyday reality of violence, discrimination, and exclusion, showing how silence, invisibility, and impunity continue to shape the lives of LGBTQI+ people in Mexico.
OUT in Ethiopia
LGBTQI+ populations in Ethiopia face severe legal, cultural, and social barriers not experienced by other groups within the country.
OUT in Ethiopia, produced by ReportOUT in collaboration with Ethiopian LGBTQI+ advocacy organisation House of Guramayle, examines the lived realities of LGBTQI+ people across the country.
The report exposes patterns of persecution and serious human rights violations, lifting the lid on the risks LGBTQI+ people face simply for existing, and documenting the resilience, survival strategies, and resistance that continue despite systemic repression.
OUT in Belize
While the decriminalisation of same-sex activity in 2016 marked progress, LGBTQI+ populations in Belize are still denied full and equal human rights. Legal reform has not translated into lived equality.
OUT in Belize, a research project led by ReportOUT in partnership with local civil society group Our Circle and allied organisations, documents the everyday realities of LGBTQI+ people across the country.
The research exposes the gap between law and life, from healthcare and education to safety and social acceptance, and centres voices too often ignored in national human rights conversations, calling for action that goes beyond symbolic legal change.
OUT in Mongolia
Legal progress has not delivered lived equality for LGBTQI+ populations in Mongolia. Despite recent improvements in law and policy, LGBTQI+ people continue to face exclusion, discrimination, and unequal access to basic human rights.
OUT in Mongolia, the first ever country-wide study of LGBTQI+ experiences in Mongolia, was led by ReportOUT in partnership with the Mongolian LGBT Centre.
The research lifts the lid on everyday realities behind the headlines, revealing deeply concerning findings and exposing the persistent gap between legal reform and lived experience.
OUT in Morocco
Despite deep-rooted legal, cultural and social discrimination in Morocco, LGBTQI+ populations continue to be marginalised in ways not experienced by other groups. Criminalisation, family hostility, and everyday violence shape life for many LGBTQI+ people, yet their voices remain largely unheard.
OUT in Morocco is a first-of-its-kind, in-depth study documenting the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ people across the country. Produced by ReportOUT with Ishtar MENA Analytics and local partners GAFM, Atyaf and Talay’an, this research maps out the human rights and development needs of the community.
Read the full findings here to understand how discrimination, exclusion and violence impact LGBTQI+ lives in Morocco.
OUT in Uganda
OUT in Uganda documents the lived realities of LGBTQI+ populations in Uganda, revealing deep and widespread human rights abuses that go far beyond what most citizens face.
Working closely with seven Ugandan partner organisations over more than a year, ReportOUT mapped out the urgent development and protection needs of LGBTQI+ people, from safety and policing to health, work, and social inclusion.
The research uncovers profoundly worrying findings: chronic insecurity, arbitrary arrests, community violence, exclusion from services, extreme financial precarity, and widespread discrimination that erode basic rights and wellbeing. Our analysis doesn’t just document harm, it lays out key recommendations to hold the state and society to account and push for meaningful change. Read the full findings and recommendations here.