Globalisation within the HE sector has resulted in international mobility has become an increasingly common experience for academics and students. This takes place within a global landscape of disparate rights for LGBTQ+ people. In this session, we discuss how HE institutions within the UK address the challenges of international travel by LGBTQ+ staff and students, drawing on data included in our recent article. We argue that HE institutions, in the UK and elsewhere, should place staff/student agency at the heart of their approach to these issues and should actively develop policies which address the cultural, legal and health issues that travellers may face. 

Dr Frances Hamilton is an Associate Professor at the University of Reading Law School where she is teaching EU law and a new first year option entitled Law and Society. Her research is broadly in the area of Gender Sexuality and the Law. She has published on European Court of Human Rights and European Union law approaches to recognition of same-sex marriages including a recent co-edited book (as lead editor) entitled ‘Same-Sex Relationships, Law and Social Change’ published in January 2020 by Routledge in London and New York including contributions from an international team of leading Law and Sociology authors from 5 different jurisdictions (the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy and the Republic of Ireland.) More recently Currently following publication of a recent article in 2021 in Policy Reviews in Higher Education with Co-author Cameron Giles entitled (2021) 'International academic mobility, agency, and LGBTQ+ rights: a review of policy responses to internationally mobile LGBTQ+ staff/students at UK HE institutions with recommendations for a global audience' she is conducting a further study of LGBTQ+ academics lived experiences when experiencing international academic mobility.

Dr Cameron Giles is a Lecturer in the Law Division, School of Law and Social Sciences at London South Bank University, where he teaches Tort and Criminal Law and is LLB (Year 1) Director of Studies. Cameron’s research focuses on the law in relation to sexual and non-fatal offences, sentencing and punishment, and LGBTQ+ issues in law. In addition to his recent article with co-author Frances Hamilton, on institutional policies in HE addressing international travel by LGBTQ+ academics and students, Cameron has published a range of academic and non-academic articles on issues such as ancillary sentencing orders in criminal cases involving STI transmission, digital technology and the criminalisation of HIV transmission, and the legacy of the criminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.