By J. Andrew Baker | Fundraising and MEL Manager
Research as Movement Infrastructure
The ILGA World Database is one of the most important public tools available to LGBTI movements worldwide. It brings together verified legal, policy, and human rights information on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics, helping activists, lawyers, journalists, UN experts, researchers, and policymakers understand how laws affect LGBTI people across all regions.
In the first quarter of 2026, ILGA World’s research and knowledge production work entered a new phase. The announcement of €1.15 million in BMZ funding for ILGA World’s research and knowledge production programme provides a major boost to the sustainability and development of this work. This support comes at a critical moment, as legal and policy changes affecting LGBTI communities continue to move quickly across jurisdictions.
For GlobalGiving donors, this means your support helps sustain and strengthen a resource at the centre of global LGBTI advocacy. The Database is not only a repository of information. It is infrastructure for action.
Updating the Global Legal Picture
Throughout the quarter, ILGA World’s research team worked across a majority of Database areas in preparation for a full update in April 2026. This included ongoing review and updating of key sections such as the criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts, one of the most urgent and frequently consulted areas of the Database.
These updates are careful and labour-intensive. Each entry requires monitoring, legal review, verification, and clear writing so that users can understand not only what the law says, but what it means in practice. The goal is to make complex legal information accessible to people who need it for advocacy, reporting, litigation, research, and community protection.
Connecting the Database and the ILGA World Monitor
The ILGA World Monitor continued to play an important role in identifying and organising legal and policy developments worldwide. Various materials were released to Monitor users during the quarter, with selected public-facing materials also made available through database.ilga.org.
Together, the Monitor and Database help ILGA World move from information collection to usable knowledge. The Monitor supports the internal and registered-user research pipeline, while the public Database makes verified information available to a wider audience. This connection helps ensure that advocates can access timely, relevant, and carefully reviewed information.
Data That Shapes Advocacy
The Database directly supported ILGA World’s advocacy this quarter. During the UPR 52nd Session Advocacy Week, the Database was used to strengthen the information shared with Permanent Missions in Geneva. Human rights defenders from Solomon Islands, Mozambique, and Namibia brought first-hand accounts of national realities, while civil society partners from Paraguay and Singapore contributed written inputs. ILGA World supplemented these materials with Database evidence covering seven additional countries. The resulting advocacy package was shared with more than 20 Permanent Missions.
The Database also supported ILGA World’s submission processes and advocacy around lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in preparation for the Independent Expert on SOGI’s forthcoming report. By connecting legal data with lived realities, ILGA World helps ensure that international human rights mechanisms have access to grounded, intersectional evidence.
Public Engagement and Media Reach
The Database is increasingly used beyond formal advocacy spaces. Journalists rely on ILGA World’s data to explain complex global legal trends, especially during moments of rapid public debate. In March 2026, ILGA World appeared in 308 media articles, and 58 of those articles quoted data from the ILGA World Database. This demonstrates how research can shape public understanding, not just policy discussion.
The research team also supported public learning through a webinar on the bullying dataset, helping users understand how legal data can illuminate protections, gaps, and risks for LGBTI students in schools.
Strengthening the Team
This quarter also saw progress towards recruiting a new Research Manager, a key step for the next phase of ILGA World’s research and knowledge production programme. This role will help guide the Database, Monitor, and wider research outputs with rigour, consistency, and strategic focus.
As the programme grows, the Research Manager will be central to strengthening quality assurance, supporting researchers, shaping publications, and ensuring that ILGA World’s data continues to serve the needs of movements across regions.
Exploring Machine Learning with Human Review
ILGA World is also exploring how machine learning could support research processes. The goal is not to replace human expertise. Rather, it is to test whether machine learning can help identify relevant developments faster, organise large volumes of information more efficiently, and support researchers in bringing verified data to users more quickly.
Human review remains essential. LGBTI legal and policy developments are complex, politically sensitive, and often context-specific. Any use of machine learning must therefore be guided by researchers who understand law, language, politics, and community realities. Used carefully, this could help ILGA World respond more quickly while maintaining the trust and accuracy users expect.
Why Your Support Matters
Reliable data helps defenders act with confidence. It helps journalists report accurately, lawyers prepare stronger arguments, policymakers understand gaps, and communities challenge harmful laws. Your support through GlobalGiving helps keep this knowledge accessible, up to date, and free for those who need it most.
By supporting the ILGA World Database, you are funding the evidence behind global equality work. You are helping ensure that when advocates enter courtrooms, parliaments, UN meetings, classrooms, and community spaces, they do so with information they can trust.
Explore the ILGA World Database
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