The impact of conflict and displacement on persons of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions (SOGIE) has remained largely un- or under-researched. A new research project of the Lebanese NGO MOSAIC is seeking to examine in depth the effects of the Syrian Civil War on persons of diverse SOGIE and LGBTIQ+ communities in Syria as well as in Lebanon, including examining the dynamics between and within the displaced and ‘host’ communities. The research will build on prior studies conducted with refugees of diverse SOGIE in Lebanon and will explicitly use an intersectional approach and examine the differential experiences of Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian lesbian women, gay men, bisexual women, trans and intersex persons rather than assuming LGBTIQ+ needs and experiences as being homogenous. It will also include those who do not necessarily identify as LGBTIQ+, such as some men who have sex with men or women who have sex with women, but also those who are victims of homo- bi- or transphobic violence without identifying as such. The initial findings will be presented by Dr. Henri Myrttinen, who is working with MOSAIC as a researcher on this project.

About the Speaker

Henri Myrttinen is a freelance researcher who until recently was the Head of Gender and Peacebuilding with International Alert, a London-based peacebuilding NGO. He has been working, among other projects, on localising WPS NAP implementation in Afghanistan; assessing the NAP and Gender Equality mechanisms in Afghanistan, Nepal and Myanmar; giving input directly or through NGO coalitions on the Dutch, Irish, Swedish and UK NAPs; as well as giving WPS-related trainings to staff of national governments, international agencies and NGOs. Henri is co-author of several pieces of research on SGBV prevention in Tajikistan, and author of a recent chapter in the Oxford University Press Handbook on Women, Peace and Security on locating masculinities in the WPS Agenda, an OECD/DAC guidance note on working with masculinities in fragile and conflict-affected states, and a chapter in the upcoming Small Arms Survey handbook on integrating gender into small arms programming. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is a member of the advisory board of the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security.