Surveying Nepal’s Sexual and Gender Minorities: An Inclusive Approach

In a recent survey of sexual and gender minorities in Nepal over 60 percent of respondents reported experiencing at least one incident of abuse or discrimination, and over one-third reported discrimination or abuse in three or more public settings. The research methodology and study was implemented through the Williams Institute and the Blue Diamond Society (BDS).The survey utilized Nepal’s inclusion of a third gender category in its national census, the first such attempt in the world. The survey reveals that LGBT people in Nepal continue to face a wide range of obstacles as individuals and as a community. These challenges include widespread bullying in schools, lack of protection from discrimination by employers, paucity of programming to address the reproductive health needs of lesbians, and the lack of sensitive HIV healthcare for transgender women and gay men who are at exponentially higher risk of HIV infection than the general population