Working Group: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

By: Gursheen Cheema (3L) and Mishail Adeel (3L)

Leads: Gursheen Cheema (3L), Mishail Adeel (3L)

Members: Jeffrey Ma (2L), Patrick Cowley (1L), Sian Shin (1L), Zhen Yu (Isabel) Yang, Mahnoor Noor (1L), Madeline Schneider (1L), Caroline Swiderski (1L), Madeline Schneiderman (1L), Rachel Quicahn Li (GPLLM), Chelsea Gordon (1L), Yu-Kai (Stanley) Chang (1L).

The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) working group is expanding the IHRP database on country conditions, housed at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide. These reports evaluate legislation, case law, and media reports, and legislation to assess the status of LGBTQIA2s+ persecution. These reports aim to assist refugee lawyers worldwide, and our teamwe aims to partner directly with organizations that can utilize our work. This year, the team is updating the resources on South Africa, Latvia, and Nepal. The goal is to provide a more recent status update on country conditions that may impact LGBTQ+ communities. 

By joining our team, students Students gain essential exposure to international human rights law concerns and have the opportunity to analyze legal issues and conduct value-driven legal research. It is important as law students to be aware of how laws and cultural attitudes in other countries can limit the important rights and freedoms of LGTBQIA+ individuals. While the reports aim to help refugee claimants, they are also crucial for raising awareness about the day-to-day realities of LGBTQ+ individuals living in other countries.

The (“SOGI”) Country-Conditions Memos can be accessed at https://ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/page/working-group-and-clinic-reports/sogi-resources