How LGBTQI+ refugees from Ukraine live abroad - study

According to the study, the main challenges for LGBTQI+ refugees are related to finding affordable and safe housing, access to friendly medical care and language barriers that affect job search and socialisation.

In addition, LGBTQI+ Ukrainians note the lack of support from state institutions and local LGBTQI organisations in all host countries. According to them, there are no centralised support programmes for LGBTQI refugees in EU countries.

However, the authors of the study note that the experiences of participants and actors are influenced by the country in which they now reside. In particular, the LGBTQI community is less friendly in Poland, Romania and Slovakia. In these countries, respondents felt most threatened by societal attitudes and legislation that did not recognise their families. While LGBTQI refugees feel freer in Germany and Austria.

It is noted that the current situation of the interviewees is also influenced by the level of involvement in activism, foreign language skills and whether they have had financial savings.

The research was conducted by in-depth offline and online interviews from December 2022 to May 2023. Thirty-four participants and participants who were living in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania and Slovakia at the time of the research took part in the survey.