Rainbow Railroad


Rainbow Railroad is a Canadian charitable organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries. In the past, they have helped individuals from the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East relocate to safer countries in Europe and North America. The organization was formed in 2006, with its name and concept inspired by the Underground Railroad that was used by African-American slaves to escape into free states. Since 2006, the Rainbow Railroad has helped over 300 LGBTQ+ people all around the world. It received charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency in 2013, and also maintains a 501 charity organization based in New York City to issue tax receipts to American donors.
After the revelations about the anti-gay purges and concentration camps in Chechnya, Rainbow Railroad began to mobilize emergency efforts to help LGBT people get out of the region in collaboration with the Russian LGBT Network. Rainbow Railroad’s main goal is to help those who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Their mission is to save those who can’t be themselves openly in their country and bring them to a new country where they can be who they truly are. Rainbow Railroad believes that governments around the globe should enact and enforce laws and policies that protect LGBTQ+ individuals and enable them to live in freedom and safety in their own country. However, until that day arrives, the organization is focused on providing solutions for LGBTQ+ people who need immediate assistance because they are facing a serious threat to their lives and safety.

Recognition

Rainbow Railroad received the 2018 Bonham Centre Award from the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto for its work helping LGBT refugees.
In 2020, Time magazine published a feature on Rainbow Railroad's work in Chechnya.