Same-sex relationships are illegal in 38 of the countries on the list and punishable by death in five (Nigeria, Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran).
Reported levels of homophobic violence are high in in Jamaica. They have also included tips from gay, lesbian and trans bloggers. Fergusson said she and her husband were inspired to compile the list to help the LGBT community and raise awareness of the often horrific treatment of LGBT people in many parts of the world. The couple acknowledge that some of the indicators they looked at, such as worker protections and adoption recognition, do not affect travellers directly, but point out that rights enshrined in law are a good overall indication of a country’s attitudes. The US may have come far, but it has a long way to go in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, especially for young transgender people.” Also, in some states, LGBTQ+ youth do not have access to helpful information, because of so-called ‘ no-promo homo laws’. Lyric Fergusson said: “There are no constitutional or broad protections for LGBTQ+ rights under federal law in the US. The researchers, American couple Asher and Lyric Fergusson, who blog about staying safe while travelling, said one reason the US is only at number 24 is because gay rights vary from state to state. The UK is sixth safest on the list, but the US does not make the top 20. Canada ranked second-safest, followed by Norway, Portugal and Belgium.
