Challenges in Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Research in Southeast Asian Countries: A Brief Report

ABSTRACT This brief report provides preliminary findings on the challenges faced by academics, community workers, and other individuals involved in LGBTQ+ rights activism and research in Southeast Asia (SEA), with larger shares of participants from the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Descriptive statistics showed that the mean number of reported challenges across the region was 4.68 (SD = 3.00; range = 0–11). The most common challenge was “Lack of funding, safe spaces and proper facilities,” followed by “Existing laws and policies that marginalise local LGBTQ+ communities” and “Too reliant on Western knowledge and findings.” While the pattern of common challenges was alike among hostile and non‐hostile countries, participants from hostile countries reported higher frequency for most challenges. Fisher's exact tests revealed no differences in number of challenges in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, country group, academic status, and number of years involved in LGBTQ+ work. Our findings call for more robust investment in comprehensive landscape research on the implications of intersecting challenges in LGBTQ+ rights activism and research across SEA, which is crucial to developing an inclusive regional roadmap for LGBTQ+ equity missions.