Collecting data on the experiences of LGBTI people is challenging, and, as a result, robust data that quantifies and details the effects of discrimination and exclusion is missing in most countries. A recent Mystery Shopper study documents, for the first time, experimental evidence of discrimination against LGBTI people in access to education and housing in Serbia. During this session, Dominik Koehler, the lead author of the report, shared the results of the experiments and the development implications for LGBTI people. The discussion focused on legal and policy considerations that need to be taken to improve the situation of LGBTI people.
Participants learned about the World Bank’s broader research initiative to understand the socio-economic dimensions of LGBTI exclusion in the Western Balkans, the lived experiences of LGBTI people and how discrimination adversely affects their development outcomes, and why collecting robust, comparative data on the lives of LGBTI people is important.