ReportOUT, a UK-based LGBTQ+ Human Rights Charity and Mongolia’s LGBT Centre are delighted to announce the launch of the largest ever survey on the experiences of the Mongolian LGBTQ+ community, OUT In Mongolia. Nearly 300 members of the community responded to share their real-life experiences in responses to both qualitative and quantative questions.
We are pleased to report that - excluding those who answered ‘Don’t Know’- 62% of survey respondents agreed that the situation in Mongolia for sexual and gender minorities was improving. However, despite this general perception, OUT In Mongolia reveals that despite recent laws designed to safeguard the rights of LGBTQ+ Mongolians, discrimination and stigmatisation remain in the domains of employment, politics, law enforcement and in societal attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community.
Stigma and Discrimination Remain
288 LGBTQ+ Mongolians responded to our survey between June and August 2022. Over 90% still lived in Mongolia with 3/4 of respondents living in Ulan Bataar.
However, it is clear that in employment, law enforcement and general society, challenges and barriers remain for the LGBTQ+ community, including:
Over half of survey respondents (52%) believe Mongolia is unsafe for LGBTQ+ people, rising to 65% when considering rural areas
Only one in five LGBTQ+ Mongolians (20%) in full or part-time employment felt safe enough to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to their employer
Nearly a quarter of LGBTQ+ Mongolians (23%) had personally experienced discrimination in the workplace because of their sexual and gender identity and 78% believe such discrimination remains common
Despite recent new laws designed to protect the rights of Mongolian sexual and gender minorities, more than three-quarters (78%) of survey respondents indicated these laws had made no difference or very little difference to them
27% of LGBTQ+ Mongolians live on less than the national minimum wage - 420,000 Mongolian Tugriks per month
Perceptions remain that discrimination and hatred against the LGBTQ+ community remains widespread, including:
93% believe negative casual jokes about LGBTQ+ people are commonplace in everyday life
81% believe political discussion about LGBTQ+ rights is rare or very rare
77% believe anti-LGBTQ+ news stories are widespread
59% believe offensive language about the LGBTQ+ community from political is common
71% of respondents do not believe there are sufficient services for sexual and gender minorities in Mongolia. The LGBT Centre is used by over half of all survey respondents as a source of both support and information on LGBTQ+ issues
Coming Soon
Drew Dalton, Founder and Chair of ReportOUT and Enkhmaa Enkhbold, Executive Director of the LGBT Centre commented ‘We are proud to have collaborated on OUT In Mongolia, a piece of research that shines an insight into the lived experiences of the Mongolian LGBTQ+ community like none previously. Our initial findings highlight a number of key areas where sexual and gender minorities remain marginalised and we look forwards to sharing the final report later this year’.
Our full study on the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Mongolians will be published by ReportOUT in November 2022 in English and Mongolian.