A new survey has been launched to document the experiences of LGBT+ migrants in Ireland in order to better understand how to support this community.
Two years ago the National LGBT Federation conducted a massive scale consultation of LGBT+ people in Ireland called the Burning Issues 2 study.
One finding that it turned up was that those who had migrated to Ireland, in particular those who came seeking asylum, were in need of greater understanding and support.
Led by Dr. Chris Noone from NUI Galway in collaboration with the LGBT Federation, this new survey aims to produce recommendations for the government on how to support this community.
Dr. Noone, a lecturer from the School of Psychology, said: “If you have come to Ireland from another country to live, work or study and you identify as LGBT+ then we would like to learn about your experiences.”
“Having an understanding of the experiences of LGBT+ migrants in Ireland will help to provide information about how, as a country and as a community, we can become more aware of their needs and act on them.”
The questions on the survey were carefully chosen after workshops with LGBT+ migrants in Galway and Dublin where topics were selected collectively by the people who attended.
While Ireland has been liberalising its attitudes towards LGBT+ people in recent times, there are many parts of the world where LGBT people and relationships are a subject of discrimination from society and the law.
“The information we will obtain from this survey will improve our understanding of the experiences of migrants in our community and allow the government to respond to the needs of LGBT+ migrants and asylum seekers”, added Dr Noone.
The study has been funded by a grant from the Community Foundation for Ireland.
To participate in the survey visit https://gcn.ie/aims/ or view You Tube link at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XEIpbBJy0&feature=youtu.be
