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About the Project

Overview
History
The Team
In loving memory of Vicente Brambila

Overview

Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) minorities are the most vulnerable minorities in the world. SOGI minorities historically have been the quintessential canaries in the coalmine, their very existence a threat to traditional norms and social structures.

The Franklin & Marshall Global Barometer of Gay Rights (F&M GBGR®) and Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (F&M GBTR™) measure state- and societal-level protection or persecution of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) minorities worldwide. The barometers are housed at Franklin & Marshall College, an undergraduate liberal arts institution established in 1787 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

We provide a database of SOGI rights that is comprehensive, accurate, and reliable. Our approach combines universal principles of human rights with quantitative research methods, allowing for the generation of multi-year worldwide trends in SOGI human rights progression or regression.

To date, we have sourced data for over 197 countries and regions. The barometers have been reviewed by partners in over 40 countries. They include grassroots activists, international and local organizations, academics, policy professionals, and human rights consultants who have lent valuable insights on local and regional conditions.

The F&M GBGR® and GBTR™ utilize universal principles of human rights that apply to all human beings, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The F&M GBGR® and GBTR™ are intended to provide objective data to inform policy and research.

History

The history of the barometers spans back to 2010. Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, F&M Professor of Government, approached Berwood Yost, Director of the F&M Center for Opinion Research, with an idea for an ambitious and comprehensive system that would document and measure state-level rights for sexual minorities around the globe. The Barometer of Gay Rights (BGR) emerged as a result. The initial ideation for the research was published in 2011 in the Human Rights Quarterly, applying the nascent Barometer to a case study of Uganda. The BGR debuted with 29 items measuring human rights in 188 countries.

Why a barometer of SOGI rights?

Over many years, the BGR underwent several iterations based on universal principles of human rights detailed in several international human rights documents, most importantly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Yogyakarta Principles. Eventually, it was renamed to the Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGR®) to reflect the universal human rights foundations as well as global reach of the research.

In 2018, the project received funding from the LGBTI Global Development Partnership to triple-verify data through regional peer review experts, including grassroots activists, scholars, and policy professionals. As understandings of sexuality, gender, and human rights have evolved globally, the need to create a sister barometer focusing on the unique challenges faced by transgender individuals became increasingly clear. The Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (GBTR™) began with seven items in 2018 to complement the GBGR® but eventually became a stand-alone barometer in its own right. The GBTR™ currently consists of 15 items.

To date, the project has collected 52,000 data points and has triple-verified the data through 50+ country and regional experts in more than 40 countries.

Attribution

International research was supported by the Multi-Donor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Global Human Rights Initiative (GHRI). The GHRI was founded in 2019 and brings together the United States Agency for International Development, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Global Affairs Canada, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Equality Without Borders, The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, and Franklin and Marshall College. The goal of the GHRI is to help protect LGBTI people in developing countries from violence, discrimination, stigma, and criminalization by 1) conducting research and data-collection to inform policy; 2) supporting social and behavior change communications and related capacity building; 3) advancing projects in focus countries; and 4) providing emergency response to LGBTI individuals and organizations.

The Team

Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson Principal Investigator,
Professor of Government,
Franklin & Marshall College
more info

Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson

Principal Investigator,
Professor of Government,
Franklin & Marshall College

Dr. Dicklitch-Nelson is Professor of Government. She is the co-creator of the F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGR®) and the F&M Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (GBTR™). Her area of expertise is human rights, specifically LGBTI human rights and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Dicklitch-Nelson has published widely on human rights and democracy, including a book called The Elusive Promise of Non-governmental Organizations in Africa: Lessons from Uganda (Palgrave/McMillan) and scholarly publications in Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, Human Rights Review, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Development in Practice, and the International Journal.

Dr. Dicklitch-Nelson has served as an expert witness in over 100 asylum cases in immigration courts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, most notably on LGBTI human rights and human rights in Cameroon and Uganda. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.

Berwood Yost Director,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College
more info

Berwood Yost

Director,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College

Berwood Yost is the Director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College, where he also teaches courses in research methods and public health. He is the co-creator of the F&M GBGR® and GBTR™. He has substantial applied experience designing and implementing public opinion research using both qualitative and quantitative methods and has conducted funded research on behalf of government, business, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, higher education, and the media.

His scholarly research has appeared in Addictive Behaviors, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Commonwealth, Criminology & Public Policy, Human Rights Quarterly, Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Tobacco Control, and Women’s Health Issues. Prior to assuming his present post, he was the Director of the Center for Opinion Research at Millersville University.

Scottie Thompson-Buckland Project and Data Specialist,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College
more info

Scottie Thompson-Buckland

Project and Data Specialist,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College

Scottie Thompson Buckland assumed her current role as Project and Data Specialist at the Center for Opinion Research in August 2015. Since 2011, Ms. Thompson Buckland has been an integral part of the GBGR® and GBTR™ team, including in areas such as research design, data analysis, and survey design.

She has published five articles in refereed scholarly journals and has also made numerous conference presentations. Her scholarly research has appeared in Journal of Human Rights, Commonwealth, Journal of Community Health, American Thoracic Society, and Journal of Community Health Nursing. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from the University of Delaware.

Indira Rahman Research Associate,
Project Manager,
Franklin & Marshall College
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Indira Rahman

Research Associate,
Project Manager,
Franklin & Marshall College

Indira Rahman joined the GBGR® and GBTR™ team as Research Associate and Project Manager in December 2018. Prior to joining the team, they established their own grassroots non-profit in Bangladesh focusing on early education success for scholars in underserved areas of Dhaka. As the Executive Project Manager of a non-profit management consulting company in Philadelphia, they worked directly with the CEO to establish procedures focused on leveraging organizational resources and efficiencies. They hold a Bachelor’s degree in Government and Astrophysics from Franklin & Marshall College.

Michelle Zhang Database Developer and Programmer,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College
more info

Michelle Zhang

Database Developer and Programmer,
Center for Opinion Research,
Franklin & Marshall College

Michelle Zhang, Database Developer and Programmer, began working at the Center in August 2011. She has an extensive background in software engineering and has created applications that support information systems, survey research projects, and manufacturing activities. She has also developed and maintained complex databases and provided IT support for businesses.

Ms. Zhang is the programmer for the F&M GBGR® and GBTR™ database. She holds a B.S. in Business Information Systems and an M.S. in Management of Information Systems, both from Utah State University.

Past & Present Research Assistants

Aiesha Elwakdy
AJ Leskin
Bonnie Sullivan
Bryan Dougan
Chan Tov McNamarah
Giovanni Corrado
Julia Bevan
Morgan Reed
Rebecca Ware Green
Ryan Tabris
Tamir Shemesh
Taylor Chase
Vicente Brambila
Yousra Chaabane
Students from Global LGBTQ+ Human Rights
Rachel Dolan
Trinity Nguyen

Partners

The F&M GBGR® and GBTR™ have received support from a variety of partners, including individuals, organizations, and government entities. Crucially, 50+ regional peer review experts from over 40 countries have assisted in ensuring the accuracy of the barometers. We are grateful to all of our partners who have supported us in this endeavor.

In loving memory of Vicente Brambila

The Franklin & Marshall Global Barometers team is saddened to announce the untimely passing of one of ours. Vicente Brambila was a Research Assistant with the F&M Global Barometers from 2017 – 2020. He passed away in an accident on January 17, 2021.

Vicente was a passionate advocate for human rights and social justice. He was a Hackman research scholar at Franklin & Marshall College. During his time at the F&M Global Barometers, he not only performed research on global LGBT human rights in more than 200 countries but also collected data for an in-depth case study of LGBT rights in the United States. His time with us was unfortunately too short. He will be greatly missed.

Rest in power, Chente (1998 – 2021).

The protection or persecution of SOGI minorities affects the well-being of millions worldwide. Their rights are an accurate proxy for human rights. Reliably gauging SOGI rights using the GBGR and GBTR allows us to quantify the state of human rights worldwide.
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Franklin & Marshall College
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003
717-358-4185
gbgr@fandm.edu
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