Through a comprehensive, three-year survey of over 1,000 refugee professionals, Dr. Oren Pizmony-Levy evaluated the success of ORAM (Organization for Refuge, Asylum, and Migration) workshops in teaching refugee workers around the world how to work effectively with LGBTI refugees. The surveyed refugee workers covered a vast array of professional fields—including the medical and mental health professions, social work, legal council, and interpretation—and its influenced reached across 11 countries around the world: Australia, India, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Senegal, Trinidad, Turkey, and the United States.

In Dr. Pizmony-Levy’s own words, “The workshop was based on the understanding that sensitized, empathetic, and educated refugee professionals are able to adjudicate claims accurately and to better protect sexual and gender minority refugees.” The survey substantiated this conclusion as well three key findings: professionals’ attitudes toward LGBTI refugees can influence their impartiality on the job; professionals’ contact with LGBTI people can influence their engagement with LGBTI refugees, and education and training can improve the quality of services to LBGTI clients.

To learn more about the results of Dr. Pizmony-Levy’s survey, please visit: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2016/september/tc-survey-of-refugee-workers--attitudes-toward-lesbians-gays-and-transexuals-c/