[8] Paola Bachetta recalls leaving ILGA to form ILIS also in reaction to the lack of inclusivity towards postcolonial issues.
Subsequently, the following ILIS conferences included intersectional workshops on racism, lesbophobia and postcolonial issues.
ILIS was represented at the 1985 United Conference on the status of women, as a result of the decision to reach out to non western lesbians.
In 1986, the ILIS Geneva conference fundraised money to strive towards the participation of lesbians coming from postcolonial countries.
The following conferences had to face some criticism about unchallenged assumptions: the fact that the conferences were meant for outed lesbians and did not take into consideration others types of lesbian expressions under oppressive regimes, and the fact that western countries were presented as saviors to third world countries.