Though Russia is a high-threat environment for LGBTQ travelers, FIFA’s anti-discrimination chief has stated that the LGBTQ community will feel safe at this summer’s events. However, there are no laws protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination or violence. Although same-sex relations are legal in Russia, homophobia is widespread, and hate crimes and violence against LGBTQ individuals often go unpunished.
► READ MOREWidespread instability and growing threats to vital organizational interests are indelible on the canvas of the foreseeable future. To obtain an appropriate level of organizational resiliency, a successful Crisis Management Team must plan, train, and monitor its risk profile to ensure an effective crisis response. In building a successful Crisis Management Team, one of the best methods is a Programs Approach which uses the following key tenets to avoid common pitfalls.
One of the most acute disruptions to circadian rhythm is rapid travel across time zones - a phenomenon known as jet lag. Jet lag not only impacts individual travelers but can also affect a company’s bottom line. In fact, a recent study found that mistakes made by jetlagged staff members cost UK businesses more than EUR 240 million (USD 311 million) during 2016.
Pre-travel health planning is paramount. Travelers can face a variety of health-related threats while traveling abroad from infectious diseases and injury to exacerbating pre-existing medical conditions. Fortunately, many of these issues can be mitigated and even prevented prior to departure. Let's take a look at some basic and proactive pre-travel health measures you should consider before any international trip.
Personal protective tips are a necessity for business travelers. From the Post Vietnam War era of kidnapping and ransom scenarios throughout South America to terror attacks against western cultures in Europe and the US, the number and types of threats faced by travelers continues to increase. Unfortunately, what we have yet to see is the same level of advancement in mitigation strategies and personal protective measures.
In an era of acute cyber awareness, we still struggle to keep our business networks and personal computers secure. And now the Internet of Things (IoT) exponentially increases our risk from hacktivists, nation states, and criminals. Today our smartTV, home security system, toaster, and heart pacemaker have a username and password. These devices increase what the security community calls the attack surface – that is, new and novel ways for intruders to hack into your life.
After a series of high-profile incidents between Transportation Security Agency (TSA) agents and transgender travelers in mid-2015, LGBT rights organizations and travelers report that security processing during domestic travel has become less fraught. However, the way security personnel at airports outside the US treat transgender individuals is inconsistent, leading to situations where transgender international travelers still face insensitivity and confusion, such incidents can be emotionally difficult and disruptive to travel.
The threats to LGBT travel safety vary by location, often requiring the travelers to take a more flexible and nuanced approach to their security and planning. In some destinations, local laws could single out members of the LGBT community for punishment. In others, the state mechanisms may not extend the protections offered to most citizens to members of the LGBT community. In the latter case, local police may not respond, for example, when an LGBT individual is in danger or is the victim of a crime. Another possible scenario is that the local government could be officially supportive of the LGBT community, while local social groups have strident anti-LGBT beliefs.
Implementing a hotline provides substantial benefits beyond event reporting and assistance requests. When effectively established, they include predetermined event response protocols based upon the characteristics in a risk profile. This extends a high level of flexibility in building protocols tailored to specific world events in support of the entity's risk mitigation strategies. Examples might include preplanning a protocol response for political/election based unrest or high visibility events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games that can present an increased threat potential.