Grindr Survey Investigates Middle Eastern GBTQ Populations

Grindr has partnered with the the MENA Organization for Services, Advocacy, Integration & Capacity (MOSAIC) to investigate the experience of being GBTQ in the Middle East and North Africa.

The collaboration produced a report, which can be found here. It is titled: “The Regional Livelihood of GBTQ Using Grindr”.

71% of respondents said their parents did not know about their sexual orientation or their gender identity. Only 6% said their family was supportive.

72% said they were happy with their sexual orientation, but only 25% said they were in good mental health.

64% were not aware of their legal rights within their local community, and over 85% would not know what to do if they were arrested.

“This report provides some of the only quantitative information on the experiences of gay, bi, trans, and queer people in the Middle East-North Africa region,” said Jack Harrison-Quintana, executive director of Grindr for Equality and VP of Social Impact at Grindr.

“We encourage LGBTQ+ organizations to use this research to support their missions, including in grant proposals, in their awareness raising campaigns, and as a source of information to set the agenda for their programs, services, and advocacy.”

The report provides a country-by-country breakdown of the GBTQ experience. In Qatar, for example, there is a “total ban” on LGBTQ organisations. The situation in Syria “remains difficult to fully ascertain” because of the conflict.

In Yemen, homosexuality between men in punishable by up to 100 lashes. In Kuwait, the punishment is up to seven years in prison. In Bahrain, “same-sex sodomy” was legalised in 1976.

Read more here.