Expert Showcase: Stephen Leonelli (HKS MPP 2016)
In April 2022, LGBTQI+ policy expert and HKS Alum (2016) Stephen Leonelli (he/him/she/her) led a session of Data + Donuts on data-driven program design for LGBTQI+ inclusive policy. Email us for a video recording of the event or Stephen's presentation slides.
The content and resources included in this section of our guide are based on Stephen's presentation.
Things to keep in mind when working with quantitative LGBTQI+ data:
- The data is generally scarce.
- The data is diverse, in that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, etc. identities all form different data sets.
- The data is potentially non-illustrative, given respondents' intersecting identities.
- The data is sensitive and could put people at risk, depending on how it's collected and stored.
- The data could misrepresent the complexities of respondents' identities. Particularly around questions of gender identity, collecting and disaggregating data can be challenging.
- The data could be biased.
For these reasons, qualitative data is important to form a more holistic picture of the lived realities of LGBTQI+ people.
Legal & Policy Framework Sources
- Country Reports on Human Rights PracticesFrom the U.S. Department of State. Annual reports on internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights (including those of LGBT people), as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.
- Global Acceptance IndexFrom UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute. Uses data from 2,750+ surveys conducted over 30 years to measure changing levels of acceptance toward LGBT people and issues in 175 countries.
- Global Barometer on Gay Rights & Global Barometer on Transgender RightsFrom Franklin & Marshall College. Measures state- and societal-level protection or persecution of SOGI (sexual orientation & gender identity) people in 204 countries and regions.
- Global HIV Criminalisation DatabaseFrom HIV Justice Network. Comprises three fully searchable databases of 1.) laws and analyses of known HIV criminalization laws, 2.) HIV criminalization cases in news media, and 3.) organizations actively working against HIV criminalization.
- HIV Policy LabFrom Georgetown Law's O'Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law. Tracks, measures, and advocates on HIV-related law and policy environment in countries around the world.
- LGBTI Inclusion IndexFrom the UN Development Programme and World Bank. Uses 51 indicators to measure inclusion, participation, and protections for LGBTI people across a variety of development sectors.
- Map of Countries that Criminalise LGBT PeopleFrom Human Dignity Trust. Map provides an overview of the countries around the world where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are criminalized.
- State-Sponsored Homophobia ReportFrom the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (IGLA World). Annual world survey of sexual orientation laws.
- Trans Legal Mapping ReportFrom the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (IGLA World). Details impact of laws and policies on trans persons across the globe.
- Transrespect versus Transphobia WorldwideFrom Transgender Europe (TGEU). Research on murders of trans and gender-diverse people around the world.
- UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identityFrom the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Thematic and country reports on acts of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide.
- Williams InstituteData and reports from the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, a research institute specializing in sexual orientation and gender identity law and policy.
Government Posture Indicators
- Rapporteurship on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, and Intersex PersonsFrom the Organization of American States (OAS). Monitors human rights of LGBTQ persons in OAS Member States.
- UN SOGI Voting Records DatabaseFrom ARC International. Tracks votes and signatories from the UN's 193 member countries on resolutions, amendments to resolutions, and statements on SOGI (sexual orientation and/or gender identity).
- UN Treaty Bodies Annual ReportsFrom the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (IGLA World). Annual report that compiles and analyzes SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics) references made by UN Committees.
- UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) DatabaseFrom Arc International. The UPR is a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which allows scrutiny of the human rights records of all UN States. The database tracks references to SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics) in UPR documents.
Funding Environment
- Global Philanthropy ProjectCollaboration between funders and philanthropic advisors to support the advancement of LGBTI human rights in the Global South and East.
Books on LGBTQ+ Data & Methods
Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action (Harvard Login) by ISBN: 9781350230750Data has never mattered more. Our lives are increasingly shaped by it and how it is defined, collected and used. But who counts in the collection, analysis and application of data? This important book is the first to look at queer data - defined as data relating to gender, sex, sexual orientation and trans identity/history. The author shows us how current data practices reflect an incomplete account of LGBTQ lives and helps us understand how data biases are used to delegitimise the everyday experiences of queer people.
Imagining Queer Methods (Harvard Login) by ISBN: 9781479808557Publication Date: 2019This volume brings together emerging and esteemed researchers from all corners of the academy who are defining new directions for the field. From critical race studies, history, journalism, lesbian feminist studies, literature, media studies, and performance studies to anthropology, education, psychology, sociology, and urban planning, this impressive interdisciplinary collection covers topics such as humanistic approaches to reading, theorizing, and interpreting, as well as scientific appeals to measurement, modeling, sampling, and statistics.
Other, Please Specify: Queer Methods in Sociology by ISBN: 9780520289277Publication Date: 2018-07-31This provocative collection showcases the work of emerging and established sociologists in the fields of sexuality and gender studies as they reflect on what it means to develop, practice, and teach queer methods. Located within the critical conversation about the possibilities and challenges of utilizing insights from humanistic queer epistemologies in social scientific research, "Other, Please Specify" presents to a new generation of researchers an array of experiences, insights, and approaches, revealing the power of investigations of the social world.
