By J. Andrew Baker | Fundraising and MEL Manager
In June 2025, the ILGA World Database was honoured as GlobalGiving’s Project of the Month, a recognition that celebrates its vital role as the world’s most comprehensive legal and policy resource on SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics) issues. This global spotlight affirms the database’s unique value for activists, journalists, policymakers, and legal professionals working toward equality.
What Makes It Unique
The ILGA World Database covers all 193 UN Member States plus 47 non-UN jurisdictions. It tracks laws in 18 critical areas — from anti-discrimination protections to gender recognition procedures and criminal penalties. But it goes far beyond legislation:
UN Treaty Bodies – Recommendations and concluding observations searchable by country and theme.
UPR & Special Procedures – Engagement records and communications that show states’ commitments and gaps.
Advanced Search & Comparison – Side-by-side analysis of jurisdictions, thematic filtering, and tailored downloads.
Mid-Year Highlights
In the first half of 2025, thousands of users turned to the database to:
Support asylum claims with verified legal and policy data
Equip grassroots campaigns with evidence to challenge harmful laws
Help journalists fact-check and report global legal trends
Guide policymakers drafting inclusive legislation or reforms
During Pride Month, ILGA World released updated global maps and data visualisations, illustrating both progress and urgent challenges in the legal landscape. These visuals reached international media outlets, sparking informed debate on the state of LGBTI rights worldwide.
External Recognition
A Geneva Academy review praised the ILGA World Database as a “powerful tracking tool for human rights advocacy”, noting its role in making complex legal information accessible to a global audience. This endorsement reflects what we hear directly from users: that having trusted, timely data is essential to making strategic, impactful change.
Turning Data into Advocacy: Protecting LGBTI Rights in Asia
In early 2025, ILGA World worked closely with partners in Asia to finalise a national advocacy strategy aimed at challenging discriminatory laws. Using the ILGA World Database, the team compiled a detailed legal profile of the country — including current legislation, international treaty body recommendations, and comparative examples from neighbouring states with stronger protections.
This evidence became the backbone of meetings with national stakeholders, where advocates could clearly demonstrate how existing laws violated human rights obligations and present concrete pathways for reform.
One partner shared that having clear, verified, and global-context data at our fingertips not only strengthened their arguments but also gave them the confidence to push harder for change.
The result? A coordinated plan of action now in place, supported by evidence drawn directly from the database — proof of how access to reliable legal data can turn advocacy into measurable progress.
Why Your Support Matters
Your contributions keep the database accurate, accessible, and free — levelling the playing field so that an activist in a restrictive legal environment has the same information as those in well-resourced contexts. Donations directly fund:
Continuous legal monitoring and data verification
Development of new search and visualisation features
Expansion of language access to reach more communities
Looking Ahead
In the coming months, we will integrate even more UN mechanism data, expand our country profiles with contextual analysis, and enhance the user interface for smoother navigation. Each improvement helps defenders, researchers, and decision-makers access the information they need to push for change.
By supporting the ILGA World Database, you are not just funding information — you are fuelling the change-makers who transform that information into action.
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