UN Women's Internal Resource Guide on LGBTIQ+ Equality and Rights (2022)

Author(s)/editor(s)

Sophie West-Browne

UN Women’s internal resource guide on LGBTIQ+* equality and rights (2022) is intended to support the organization to clarify matters of how its global gender equality agenda takes into account the human rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics (SOGIESC), how UN Women can take this work forward, and what key contributions it can make to advancing these efforts. It contributes to defining a corporate position and institutionalizing a strategic approach to LGBTIQ+ equality and rights work at UN Women that is comprehensive, systematic and innovative.

The resource guide provides key terminology and definitions, an executive summary, key messages, and a framework centred around the key principles of inclusivity, intersectionality, specificity and evidence. It also looks at how to operationalize work on the human rights of people with diverse SOGIESC, and shares examples and case studies of UN Women’s activities in a diversity of locations.

* LGBTIQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people, and people who use other terms or none to describe their SOGIESC. UN Women also uses the term “‘people with diverse SOGIESC”’ where appropriate in global contexts while respecting their distinctions. We note that neither term is universally applicable nor reflects the full diversity of sexual and gender formations, practices and identities that exist, that terms and their usage are constantly evolving, and that SOGIESC applies to all people. In practice, various culturally, linguistically and context-specific terms may be used where appropriate.

Other terms may include, among others hijra, meti, lala, skesana, motsoalle, mithli, kuchu, kawein, travesty, muxé, fa’afafine, fakaleiti, hamjensgara and Two-Spirit.