EPSILON - Equipping Professionals for Supporting LGBT Migrants & Refugees

EpsiLon focus on sharing, developing and transferring innovative practices in education targeting professionals and volunteers working in services for LGBT asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. It developed a innovative, evidence-based, user-led educational tools in order to raise adult learners’ awareness and sensitivity to the needs of all those with LGBT background. The educational tools enable the professionals and volunteers to identify these LGBT groups’ most current and urgent needs some even reaching on issues of survival, dignity and respect. It also helps them challenge their own biases and improve their skills in providing tailored and culturally sensitive services. The need for the development of such training programme is highlighted at top level by all competent organisations such as UNHCR and the EP.

Year(s): 2016 - 2018

Target group(s): Migrants and Refugees; 2) Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gender groups (LGBT) 3) Professionals and volunteers working in services for LGBT asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants

Website or other online channels: https://www.epsilonproject.eu/

Methodology

In addition to traditional methods of training and skills development, the project will construct an e-learning course that will form part of Certification and self-assessment. This will allow its practical results to

(a) reach widely outside of the participating countries through free, online access Europe-wide

(b) continue being delivered after the project’s funding is finished

(c) reach groups in society that would not have been otherwise able to receive the face-to-face package and in print material

(d) reward and formally accredit its target audiences.

Type of product

Online resource Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

EPSILON’s outcomes:

1.      Supporting and Including LGBTI Migrants – Needs, Experiences & Good Practices Ebook

2.      Face-to-face training design and pilot for increasing the knowledge and capacity of professionals, volunteers, LGBT people, refugees and other key workers

3.      Online training design

4.      Final project report on policy recommendations, tools and best practices. 

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

In terms of concluding reflections from research and evidence-based knowledge about LGBTI migrants and refugees in Europe:

“Overall, it seems that none of the Epsilon participating countries makes adequate preventative provisions for LGBTI migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and this includes guidelines on provision of specific healthcare and special accommodation facilities for LGBTI persons. Training on specific LGBTI vulnerabilities is provided either randomly and inconsistently or not at all. Relevant NGOs may provide some information leaflets, but usually not in all needed languages. It is also clear that due to fear of persecution and stigmatisation, most incidents of discrimination, violence or harassment are not reported and are not recorded as such.”

In terms of Epsilon’s training: [HC1]

“Participants were asked to estimate their knowledge about LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, refugees and migrants prior to the training and after the training on a scale from 1 to 10. The average score before the training was 5,99 and the respective score after the training was 7,45.".

Promoter of the initiative: Independent Academic Research Studies International Institute

Country: United Kingdom

Languages available: English Greek Italian

Website or other online channels: https://www.iars.org.uk/online/