LGBTQ+ travelers face a "worsening security environment" in some global regions, and companies should ensure their travel risk policies support those travelers amid varied and evolving security environments, according to a special advisory report issued recently by global healthcare and risk management firm Healix.
The report noted that the risk environment to LGBTQ+ travelers in Africa has "deteriorated" over the past year "due to new criminalizing laws and increased anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric." Senegal, for example, has increased penalties for same-sex activity, and Ghana President John Mahama appears poised to approve a bill that would criminalize identifying as an LGBTQ+ individual, according to the report.
The Middle East and North Africa region also has seen "a continuation—and in some cases, an intensification—of repressive measures targeting LGBTQ+ communities" over the past year, the report said. Iraq, for example, has seen "strict enforcement" of legislation criminalizing same-sex activity and banning gender-affirming care, and Turkey has seen a bill introduced to criminalize LGBTQ+ expression. While it has not yet passed, "its introduction reflects a broader political climate in which LGBTQ+ rights are framed as threats to national or religious values," the report said.
Similarly, Riskline earlier this year launched its 2026 LGBTQ Risk Map showing a "growing wave of rights rollbacks" for LGBTQ+ travelers around the world.
Europe's Commonwealth of Independent States region has seen the biggest overall improvement in LGBTQ+ rights and security over the past year, in part due to the EU ensuring that essential rights are upheld even within some of the more conservative members, according to the report. Additionally, Poland, Hungary and Italy in particular have seen "unexpected improvements," the report said.
In the Americas, there have been "higher levels of legislative support" for LGBTQ+ safety last year, but South America in particular has seen an increase in violent acts against LGBTQ+ individuals, the report said. The U.S., meanwhile, has seen a rollback of some rights for transgender individuals—such as the removal of the nonbinary "X" gender marker for passports—and a patchwork of restrictions versus codified rights at the state level that make the country "one of the most legally inconsistent environments for LGBTQ+ individuals among developed nations," according to the report.
Healix security consultant Saskia Veldhuizen said the company has seen an increasing number of requests from individuals from nongovernmental organizations about potential issues at border entry or visas being canceled, among both those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and those traveling on behalf of the community.
"We are seeing a lot of organizations questioning or checking those aspects," she said. "It's such a specific question and so subjected to the individual, so it's very difficult to predict."
In the Asia-Pacific region, the report noted that legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals have been improving in some regions, including Thailand, Australia and South Korea, while other countries have become more dangerous for LGBTQ+ travelers over the past year. China, for example, continues to censor content promoting LGBTQ+ topics, while both Malaysia and Indonesia have increased arrests of LGBTQ+ individuals alleged to be involved in "sex parties," according to the report.
As risk profiles for LGBTQ+ travelers around the world evolve, Healix said it is critical to address that risk in policies, but Veldhuizen said a common mistake is expecting LGBTQ+ travelers to disclose their identities to program managers or employers.
"The organization should be providing the resources and the information and be proactive from the beginning," she said. "The information should be freely and easily accessible, and then there should be ways the individual could further get measures and advice."
She added that is important also for a company to foster a feedback mechanism so employees can report issues after travel—a problem encountered with a certain supplier, for example, related to discrimination—in addition to having information prior to travel.
"If that organization isn't proactive to ask for that information or wanting to receive it, you're further enabling it," Veldhuizen said.