ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present key findings from a scoping review that critically synthesized knowledge produced between 2007 and 2017 about lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) migrants with an emphasis on migration from the Global South to the Global North. This scoping of the international literature assessed the range and quality of a broad range of qualitative research, identifying key knowledge strengths and gaps. Central to the US-based literature is an exploration of LGBTQI immigrant and refugee well-being in relation to HIV risk and prevention, access to health and social services, and the experiences of LGBTQI undocumented people. In contrast, the main areas of focus elsewhere in the Global North include sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE)-based refugee claims and multiple discriminations experienced by LGBTQI migrants, such as family/community rejection and barriers to access housing, employment, health and social services, in particular within detention centers. Ethnography, community-based, participatory and intervention research methodologies were mobilized with various qualitative methods such as interviews, focus groups, mixed methods, case studies, etc. Recurrent theoretical frameworks mobilized included ecological systems theory, minority-stress model, multicultural feminist framework, the social determinants of health and intersectionality. This chapter also explores the implications of these findings for social work research, policy and practice with LGBTQI migrants. This includes the usefulness of policy advocacy and community mobilizing, as well as developing trauma-informed and anti-oppressive delivery and specialized services for LGBTQI migrants.
