Syria is an incredibly difficult place for LGBTQI+ people to make a life, yet there is little publicly available information detailing their daily realities, threats, challenges, and personal perspectives. Most activists within Syria are forced by their circumstances to operate clandestinely, and while those living as refugees in neighboring countries - like many of us at SGSE - receive regular information about the situation back in Syria, this rarely makes it to LGBTQI+ allies outside the country.
The persecution of LGBTQI+ people in Syria is entrenched in social norms and customs and also enshrined in law. Though homophobia/transphobia and the targeting of LGBTQI+ individuals with discrimination and violence were common before 2011, the conflict intensified the pressure on the community. The rise of ISIS saw the deadliest attacks against LGBTQI+ people in the country’s history. The conflict was also characterized by an absence of supportive interventions from Syrian civil society, thus resulting in a gap in relief and support to LGBTQI+ people with special vulnerabilities. It was this lack of support, understanding, and data about the reality of the LGBTQI+ community in Syria that inspired this study.
This study aims to raise the visibility of LGBTQI+ individuals in Syria, to describe the challenges faced by this community so that those wishing to support them understand the key issues at play, and to provide tangible recommendations for advocates who can support the community.
Since the emergence of protests against the Syrian regime in 2011 and the ensuing outbreak of armed conflict, there has been a substantial rise in the activities of Syrian feminist and human rights movements. Previously, Movements such as the General Women’s Union had been subsumed within or closely linked to Ba’ath Party. But new groups emerged that offered an alternative to those that had been monopolized by the Syrian regime.
Nonetheless, there is a lack of prior research and studies on the LGBTQI+ community within Syria. In fact, comprehensive studies and reports detailing the realities and challenges faced by any segment of Syrian society are scarce. Social repression and risks of persecution make it difficult to access target segments of the LGBTQI+ community within Syria. Most existing studies on the LGBTQI+ community in this region focus on individuals in neighboring countries like Lebanon.
The contemporary challenges faced by the Syrian LGBTQI+ community emerge from the long history of legal and societal constraints imposed on this demographic. Same-sex and transgender people have been criminalized since 1949, forcing many to keep their identities hidden. Arrests have been common, especially during intermittent campaigns against the LGBTQI+ community, such as those that occurred in 2009 and 2010 (). The conflict has significantly intensified the risks for all marginalized and unprotected groups, yet there is no representation of LGBTQI+ individuals in the political settlement process or in the process of drafting the new constitution, despite the representation of various other special interest groups, such as families of victims, associations of the forcibly disappeared and detainees, and those of unknown fate, as well as women, among others.
Research on this topic is necessary to inform the design of regional relief, developmental, and political programs and ensure that LGBTQI+ individuals are not excluded from them. This study aims to bridge the gap in information about the challenges and needs of the LGBTQI+ community in Syria. The report consists of eight sections detailing different aspects of the experiences and perspectives of LGBTQI+ Syrians and the contexts in which they live, as follows.
The first chapter describes the Legal Context that provides the most fundamental determinant of LGBTQI+ rights in Syria. We consider the constitutional and other legal mechanisms that can variously protect and incriminate people based on their sexual orientation and gender, as well as the more insidious processes by which legal mechanisms can be manipulated, corrupted or bypassed in practice. We also consider the complicated multiplicity of legal contexts that has arisen in light of the conflict, with various authorities implementing their own judicial systems in the territories where they claim control.
The second chapter delves into the Political Context that shapes the current realities and possible futures for LGBTQI+ rights in Syria. It considers the ways that homophobic and otherwise discriminatory sentiments have been exploited by political actors seeking to position themselves favorably within a ‘moral crisis’ of their own making, sometimes with dire consequences for LGBTQI+ people. More positively, it considers some of the ways that the LGBTQI+ community might become better positioned to improve their situation through political representation, constitutional reform and civil society activity.
The third chapter describes the Socio-Cultural Contexts that shape Syrian society’s perspectives toward and treatment of LGBTQI+ people. It examines multiple scales, from the close familial relations that define everyday life at home to the broader associations and networks through which moral norms about sex and gender are reproduced and imposed. While much of the beginning of the chapter discusses the sources heteronormative and homophobic sentiments - including religious institutions as well as popular media - the latter sections consider the degree to which LGBTQI+ communities have been able to carve out safe spaces, both in cities and online.
The fourth chapter moves on to the Economic Contexts of LGBTQI Syrians lives, with a focus on the effects of the conflict. The general population faces immense economic challenges in light of the disruptions caused by the conflict as well as sanctions imposed on Syria during this period. As we discuss here, LGBTQI+ people face additional hardship due to the systemic biases discussed above, and these biases have material consequences. LGBTQI+ people are often discriminated against in employment processes, and those who are rejected by their families are sometimes removed from inheritance.
The last two chapters consider Access to Health Care and Education for the LGBTQI+ community in Syria. From systematic neglect of the problems and concerns of LGBTQI+ people to overt persecution and abuse, LGBTQI+ people report barriers to inclusion that reduce their uptake of both medical services and education. In health care facilities, LGBTQI+ patients lack access to gender-affirming care and are instead pathologised with diagnoses of mental disorders. In schools, there is discrimination both in the general treatment of LGBTQI+ people by teachers and peers as well as in the curriculum itself, most notably regarding sexual health and STI awareness. These sections highlight the need for advocacy to end discrimination by professionals as well as greater awareness of LGBTQI+ concerns and implementation of formal safe-guarding mechanisms.
Hasnaa Alojaili,Aram Midani,Diaa Al-Ali
Cory Rodgers
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and SEEN For Gender & Sexual Equity (SGSE)
This research brief was produced through collaboration between Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung (FES) and SEEN for Gender & Sexual Equity (SGSE). The perspectives presented here are those of the authors of the Out of the Shadows study and do not necessarily reflect the stance of FES.
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