Publication: Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities 2024
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2024-09-10
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2024-09-10
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By assessing discrimination in laws, regulations, and policies, the Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities (EQOSOGI) initiative examines institutionalized challenges encountered by sexual and gender minorities. This second edition of the EQOSOGI report expands its coverage from 16 to 64 countries representing different geographic areas, income levels, legal traditions, and inclusiveness of sexual and gender minorities, ensuring a diverse and holistic representation of the issues.
EQOSOGI presents indicators to identify differences in the legal and policy environment for sexual and gender minorities in six areas: Decriminalization, Access to Education, Access to Labor Markets, Access to Services and Social Protection, Civil and Political Inclusion, and Protection from Hate Crimes. The indicators are also disaggregated into the three dimensions of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
Building a global knowledge base on laws and policies affecting sexual and gender minorities is at the foundation of advocacy and policy change, especially because sexual and gender minorities are largely excluded from development efforts. By collecting and sharing data on national frameworks, the EQOSOGI study aims to promote a dialogue on equality of opportunity and to encourage law and policy reforms that enable sexual and gender minorities to fully participate in the economy and share in the benefits of development. It also aims to promote a deeper understanding of the legal hurdles hindering inclusive job creation and private sector development and, ultimately, to encourage reforms that are conducive to poverty reduction and shared prosperity on a liveable planet.
The report also offers a deep dive into discriminatory legal practices in these areas and how they relate to socioeconomic outcomes for sexual and gender minorities. It provides areas of policy engagement to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics, and to promote increased social and economic inclusion.
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“World Bank. 2024. Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities 2024. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42099 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-09-28)Despite legal and social advances in the past two decades, sexual orientation and gender minorities continue to face widespread discrimination and violence in many countries. This discrimination and violence lead to exclusion, which adversely impacts their lives, as well as the communities and economies in which they live. A major barrier to addressing this stigma and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)-based exclusion is the lack of SOGI-specific data. Robust, quantitative data on differential development experiences and outcomes of sexual and gender minorities—especially those in developing countries—is extremely thin. is paucity of data jeopardizes the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and countries' commitment to the principle of 'leaving no one behind' in the effort to end poverty and inequality. Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities assesses the unique challenges that sexual and gender minorities face in six important areas: Criminalization and SOGI, Access to education, Access to the labor market, Access to public services and social protection, Civil and political inclusion, Protection from hate crimes. This report offers numerous policy recommendations to prevent and eliminate discriminatory practices in all of the areas covered. It also seeks to influence legislative changes and support research on institutions and regulations that can ultimately lead to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. At the same time, it acknowledges that the mere existence of inclusive laws and regulations does not ensure that sexual and gender minorities are free from discrimination—the enforcement of those laws is crucial. This publication, the first in a series of studies, will be expanded from the 16 countries included to a wider set of countries for more in-depth quantitative analysis and to identify possible correlations with socioeconomic outcomes. It will seek to deepen knowledge, facilitate peer learning of good practices, and encourage reforms to increase the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities.Publication Charting a Programmatic Roadmap for Sexual Minority Groups in India(Washington, DC, 2012-07)Discrimination and stigma are constant companions in the life of the rainbow people. Apart from the demand for decriminalization, the main issues that confront the community are discrimination and violence, recognition of alternative family structures, adoption and property rights, and access to social security measures including identity documentation, welfare schemes, and education and health services. 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This judgment is unfortunately now challenged at the Supreme Court of India which is currently hearing the arguments of either side. The decriminalization of the community remains a fundamental issue which needs resolution if the community is to attain its rightful due. Continued advocacy on the part of the community and education of its people in the implications of the 2009 High Court judgment are important steps.Publication Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Inclusion and Gender Equality(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-08)This note provides an overview of the situation of LGBTI people globally and why addressing discrimination against them and promoting their inclusion make economic sense as well as being the right thing to do. It lays out the authorizing environment for SOGI inclusion at the World Bank and highlights promising practices of SOGI inclusion, including in data generation and operations from the World Bank and public and private sector partners. The note highlights opportunities to advance SOGI inclusion through the three strategic objectives of the World Bank’s Gender Strategy update, namely ending gender-based violence and elevating human capital, expanding and enabling economic opportunities, and engaging women as leaders. The World Bank and development partners can also better integrate SOGI inclusion in their work on gender data generation, evaluation and learning, policy and institutional reforms, and capacity building.Publication Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities in Education and Housing(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12)Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is widespread and LGBTI exclusion from economic markets, vital services and political spaces is entrenched. This is not just a personal problem, it is a development challenge; not only because discrimination is inherently unjust, but also because "there are substantial costs—social, political, and economic—to not addressing the exclusion of entire groups of people." Understanding the barriers LGBTI people face in accessing markets, services, and spaces is important for designing more inclusive policies and programs.Publication Monitoring Basic Opportunities throughout the Lifecycle with the Human Opportunity Index in Chile(Washington, DC, 2012-05)Chile has made significant progress towards equalizing opportunities in recent years, especially those pertaining to poverty alleviation, school enrollment, and access to health services. A monitoring system of basic opportunities that effectively incorporates equity concerns may help policymakers to design better policies for vulnerable groups in Chile. The Human Opportunity Index (HOI) is an equality of opportunity adjusted coverage rate. 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The three main findings that emerge from this initial monitoring exercise are: (i) Chile does well in providing fundamental basic opportunities, but not as well on more advanced indicators such as quality learning, completion of secondary on time, access to some tertiary education, as well as bundles of services for early childhood development, and youth development; (ii) inequality of opportunity in Chile operates mainly on the basis of parental education and location, and (iii) a sound monitoring system of the equitable provision of opportunities for all may help the Chilean society strengthen consensus towards equity and provide policymakers with the right incentives to design and implement better policies to address these issues.
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