Two paid boards with different expertise and experience support the Consortium partners in the implementation of the LGBTIQ+ Missing Children project.

Advisory Youth Board

The Advisory Youth Board consists of 6 LGBTIQ+ young people under 25 who have experienced going missing, as defined by the project, before turning 18 years old. Based on their experience, the members of the Youth Board contribute to a variety of tasks ranging from advocacy and research to communications and dissemination throughout the project.

Blin Sali (He/him), Albania

Blin is a 23-year-old transgender activist from Albania. He founded and leads a support group for transmasculine individuals, organises cultural events with and for the LGBTIQ+ community, and represents TGD voices through various advocacy efforts. Blin also contributes to the community through music and art, aiming to help LGBTIQ+ people in Albania feel seen and valued.

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Eleonore Strehl-Firquet (She/her), France

Eleonore is a passionate psychology student committed to supporting young LGBTQIA+ individuals. When she's not immersed in her studies, she enjoys reading, following F1 racing, and engaging in various sports. Her dedication to helping others is matched by her diverse range of interests.

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Hitesh (They/them), Belgium

Hitesh holds a dual master's degree in social and cultural anthropology from KU Leuven and NTNU, Norway. Lately, they have been invested in the study of "Affective Technologies and Postcolonial Condition(s)of EUrope". Nevertheless, their field of interest intersects (in)security studies from feminist perspectives and science and technology studies, with a hint of psychoanalysis. They are invested in rethinking object(s) of analysis by shifting the gaze of field(s) with feminist epistemologies in science, technology and society.

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Lenny (He/him), Switzerland

Lenny has been a queer activist for several years, mainly as a board member of the queer youth organisation Milchjugend, which aims to empower young queer people. He is also Art Director of the lila. queer festival and Community Health Worker at Checkpoint Zurich.

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Theodore Nguyen (It/She/Him), United Kingdom

Theo (any pronouns) is a 19 year-old non-binary person living in Wales. He’s currently at university studying marine biology, and works with Mermaids on their youth advisory panel. He feels passionately about queer organising. In his free time he loves to climb, hike and be outdoors.

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Expert Board of Professionals

The Expert Board of Professionals gathers five professionals representing either LGBTIQ+ organisations or service providers from various sectors that come in contact with LGBTIQ+ children at risk of going missing.

Dr. Brian J. Frederick (He/They), United States

Brian is a queer/cultural criminologist and an Assistant Professor at SUNY Empire State University in Brooklyn, NY. His research focuses on the intersection of LGBTQIA+ folx and crime, deviance and transgression. As a teen, he was a runaway on the streets of Los Angeles and New York City.

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Julia Kata (She/her), Poland

Julia is a psychologist, mediator in training. She's been working for the transgender and non-binary community for over decade. She's also a co-author of research, scientific and educational publications. She designs and conducts trainings on inclusive language, LGBTQIA+ Rights for institutions, professionals and business. She's one of the facilitators of the first meeting of young Intersex persons in Europe.

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Mario Colamarino (He/him), Italy

Mario is a jurist, consultant, and president of the Italian LGBTQIA+ association C.C.O. "Mario Mieli" in Rome, serving from 2015 to 2017 and again from 2021 onwards. He is also the spokesperson and chairman of Rome Pride.

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Sara Granath (She/her), Sweden

Sara is a senior advisor with expertise in children in migration and displacement working for Save the Children Sweden. With over 20 years of advocating for children's rights and especially refugee children's rights she is passionate about ensuring all children have equal access to services and opportunities and are treated with dignity and respect.

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Sergio Pérez Barranco (He/him), Belgium

Sergio is Policy Officer at FEANTSA, the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless, which is the only Europen NGO focusing exclusively on the fight to end homelessness in Europe. He leads the organisation's work in the youth and LGBTIQ+ policy areas, and also works on migration.

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One of the main goals of the project LGBTIQ+ Missing Children is to collect qualitative data on the experiences of young LGBTIQ+ people with experience of being homeless, running away or being forced to leave their home before the age of 18.

We want this project to centre the voices of young LGBTIQ+ people. As such, collecting information about the experiences of young LGBTIQ+ people who “went missing” is a crucial step to give solid foundations to the whole project. This qualitative data will inform our report for professionals, our training for practitioners and stakeholders, our awareness-raising campaign and our policy recommendations.

You can read more about the project LGBTIQ+ Missing Children on the main page.

How do we want to collect such qualitative data? Primarily through two channels: a multilingual survey and online interviews. Read more below and take our anonymous survey and/or sign up for an interview by March 2025!

Who is this Survey for?

You can answer this anonymous survey if:

• You identify as a LGBTIQ+ person;
• You are above 18 years of age;
• You went missing before turning 18 (as a child) in a European Union Member State or in the UK as per the definition below.
  

A “missing” child is typically defined as any person under the age of 18 whose whereabouts are unknown. In the context of this project, we consider that a child is “missing” when they leave their place of residence, either after deciding it or being forced to, either by informing those responsible for them of their location or not. This definition can be used to describe the situation of children who run away from their family home or main place of residence, or are being forced to leave it, among other situations. This definition is not exhaustive and can also include wider experiences, such as being homeless, living with other relatives, friends or foster families, being in the care of social services or foster care, being an unaccompanied asylum seeker, or being a victim of trafficking.     

What can you expect from the Survey?

The survey will ask questions about demographic background, issues relating to the circumstances leading to going missing, experiences while missing and support needs when returning.

The survey is anonymous, and we will not identify participants. The results of this study will be collated and reported back to Missing Children Europe and 116 000 helplines across Europe.

The survey should only take 10-15 minutes to complete. No questions are mandatory. If you are not comfortable with any of them, you will be able to skip to the next one. You can withdraw your participation at any time by not completing the survey.

How to take the Survey?

The Survey is available in eight languages. Click on the links below to access the survey in your preferred language:

• Dutch
• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Polish
• Russian
• Spanish

In addition to collecting information through the Survey, we will also conduct online interviews to understand more in-depth the experiences of LGBTIQ+ children going missing. As part of the interview, you will hold a 60-minutes one-to-one conversation with an experienced researcher from University of Portsmouth or Missing Children Europe about your experience as a missing child. Interviews will be conducted in English.

Interviews will be conducted starting from January 2025 until March 2025.

Who are the Interviews for?

You can participate in the interviews if:

• You identify as a LGBTIQ+ person;
• You are above 18 years of age;
• You went missing before turning 18 (as a child) in a European Union Member State or in the UK as per the definition below:

A missing child is typically defined as any person under the age of 18 whose whereabouts are unknown. In the context of this project, we consider that a child is missing when they leave their place of residence, either after deciding it or being forced to, either by informing those responsible for them of their location or not. This definition can be used to describe the situation of children who run away from their family home or main place of residence, or are being forced to leave it, among other situations. This definition is not exhaustive and can also include wider experiences, such as being homeless, living with other relatives, friends or foster families, being in the care of social services or foster care, being an unaccompanied asylum seeker, or being a victim of trafficking.     

You can sign up to be interviewed even if you did not fill out the survey.

How to participate in the interviews?

If you are willing to be interviewed for this project, please fill out this simple form to express your interest. After that, you will be contacted by one of the project partners with more details regarding the interview process. After you have received this additional information, you can decide whether you want to still participate in the interviews or not.

Participation in the interviews is voluntary and you can opt out at any time.

Participating in this survey or interviews can be significantly triggering and potentially re-traumatising for you, if you have experienced going missing as an LGBTIQ+ child.

First of all, we invite you to practice self-care and self-compassion. If you do not feel ready to share details about your past experiences, you can step away from this space.

If you are looking for support for yourself as an LGBTIQ+ young person with a past experience of going missing, we invite you to contact IGLYO Member Organisations working to support queer youth. The full list of Member Organisations can be found here.

Specific organisations where you can find support in your language are linked below. This list focuses on organisations which provide services to young LGBTIQ+ people and is non-exhaustive.

Dutch

• COC Nederland (Netherlands)
• Transgender Netwerk Nederland (Netherlands)

English

• Belong To LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland (Ireland)
• ChillOUT LGBTI+ Youth Project (Ireland)
• Gay Project (Ireland)
• Inclusive Bangladesh (UK)
• Just Like Us (UK)
• LGBT Youth Scotland (UK)
• Mermaids (UK)
• ShoutOut (Ireland)
• The Kite Trust (UK)
• NUS LGBT (National Union of Students) (Ireland)
• Youth Work Ireland (UK)

French

• Bi’Cause (France)
• MAG Jeunes LGBT+ (France)
• SOS homophobie (France)

German

• Homosexuelle Initiative (HOSI) Wien (Austria)
• Jugendnetzwerk Lambda (Germany)
• Milchjugend (Switzerland)

Italian

• Arcigay (Italy)
• Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli (Italy)
• Gruppo Trans (Italy)

Polish

• Community Center Równik (SPR) (Poland)
• Fundacja Trans-Fuzja (Poland)

Russian

• ECOM (Estonia)

Spanish

• ACATHI (Spain)
• FELGTBI+ (Spain)
• It Gets Better España (Spain)

If someone close to you has gone missing or you suspect is at risk of going missing, you can contact the 116 000 hotline. In 32 countries across Europe, organisations operate the 116 000 hotline providing a free and 24/7 service to children (at risk of) going missing and their families. Anyone involved in a case of child disappearance (the child, a peer, a friend, a family member, carer or teacher) can call 116 000 and receive immediate emotional, psychological, social, legal and administrative support. In most member states, the services can also be reached through a variety of different text-based communication platforms such as a chat service.

LGBTIQ+ Missing Children Survey & Interviews

Are you a young LGBTIQ+ person above 18? Were you forced to leave your home, have you left/ran away from it, and/or were you homeless in an EU country or the UK before turning 18? Fill out our anonymous LGBTIQ+ Missing Children survey with your experience to help positively impact LGBTIQ+ children at risk of being in the same situation! Read our call and take the survey and/or sign up for interviews by 16 March 2025.

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Call for an Advisory Youth Board | 4 June 2024

We're looking for LGBTQI young people between 18-24 years old in Europe with experience of going missing before turning 18 to join the Advisory Youth Board of the project. Read our call and apply by 9 June 2024.

Project Launch Press Release | 31 May 2024

On 31 May 2024, we officially set sail and launched the LGBTIQ+ Missing Children project through this press release.

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IGLYO — The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation

IGLYO — The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation is the world's largest network dedicated to LGBTQI young people and their rights. We represent the voice of over 115 Member Organisation in over 40 countries across the Council of Europe Region. IGLYO advances the rights of LGBTQI young people, fights for equality and inclusion, and empowers LGBTQI youth voices through international training and events, thematic research and advocacy campaigns, online tools and resources, networking activities, and much more. Visit their website

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Missing Children Europe

Missing Children Europe represents 32 Non-Governmental Organisations active in 27 countries across Europe for the prevention, protection and support of missing and sexually exploited children and their families. They provide the link between research, policies, and organisations on the ground to protect children from any form of violence, abuse, or neglect that is caused by or results from them going missing. Missing Children Europe coordinates the network of 116000 hotlines for missing children, and the network of cross border family mediators and facilitates coordination of cases that involve cross-border issues, ensuring that vulnerable children receive the help they need no matter where they are in Europe. Visit their website

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University of Portsmouth

The University of Portsmouth hosts The Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, provides a clear focus for research into missing persons, for knowledge transfer and for educational provision, to academics, to professionals in the missing persons community and to relatives of missing people. Visit their website

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Co-funded by the European Union

“LGBTIQ+ Missing - The voice of LGBTIQ+ young people with experience of going missing before the age of 18” is co-funded by the European Union under the call CERV-2023-EQUAL (project number 101144825).

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