Dr. Gerson Scheidweiler holds a PhD in communication from the University of Brasilia and is a recipient of the LA&PS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (2021-2022). His research is supervised by Professor Yvonne Su from the Department of Equity Studies, LA&PS.

Dr. Scheidweiler’s research aims to contribute towards evidence-informed policy by helping international funders and local governments decide how peer-to-peer assistance, public services, communication policies, and local community responses can be leveraged and supported to advance the sexual health rights of Venezuelan refugees. According to him, most literature examining refugee crises has focused on the flow of migrants from the global south to the global north. Additionally, research on migration studies overlooks the unique struggles and intersectionalities of minority groups. Dr. Scheidweiler hopes to break this trend by investigating south-to- south migration as a researcher from the global south.

Overall, his research seeks to understand the extent to which local, national, and international responses to receive and integrate Venezuelan refugees in Brazil have taken into account the sexual health of vulnerable populations (e.g., Women and LGBTQI+ migrants). This research is institutionally supported by the Secretary of Women of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.

Connect with Dr. Scheidweiler at gehsch@yorku.ca to learn more about his research and collaborations.