Sexual minorities in conflict zones: A review of the literature

- Sexual minorities are a hidden population in armed conflict, as they experience heightened risk for war crimes.
- Definitional problems create criteria excluding sexuality and are named differently according to gender.
- Exact numbers of sexual minorities affected by war crimes are underreported in statistics from countries in conflict.
- Little literature exists on the psychosocial outcomes of war-affected sexual minorities.
- Suggested avenues for further research into macro- and micro-interventions for war-affected sexual minorities are presented.

In civil and ethnic conflict, sexual minorities experience a heightened risk for war crimes such as sexual violence, torture, and death. As a result, sexual minorities remain an invisible population in armed conflict out of a need for safety. Further study of sexual minorities in conflict zones confronts matters of human rights, war crimes, and the psychosocial effects of war. This article reviews the existing research on sexual minorities in conflict zones, examines the findings on human rights, war crimes, and the psychosocial effects of war and violence on sexual minority populations, and reviews the barriers to effectiveness faced by intervention programs developed specifically to aid post-conflict societies. The article concludes with a summary of findings within the literature and further considerations for research on aggression and violent behavior with sexual minority groups in conflict zones.