Beyond Rhetoric: A Dataset on Global LGBT Rights Violations

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Abstract

What are the levels of repression against LGBT people around the world? Which countries have witnessed either an improvement or a deterioration in the living conditions of sexual minorities? Are there diverse practices indicating heterogeneity in the treatment of sexual minorities? While current available data allows scholars to study changes in de jure rights and societal attitudes towards LGBT rights, we are still missing an essential piece of the puzzle: de facto enjoyment of rights. This study addresses a critical gap in our understanding of repression against the LGBT community globally by introducing the first comprehensive dataset on rights violations against sexual minorities. Leveraging text analysis techniques, this research systematically quantifies rights violations by extracting information from the US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. This dataset offers a country-year level measure of repression against sexual minorities. The data will allow researchers to address multiple questions surrounding the efficacy of policies designed to ameliorate the conditions of sexual minorities.

Author

• Gino Pauselli, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign