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Progress in analyzing and interpreting the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity in the context of refugee law has contributed to a rise in individuals seeking asylum in such countries as the United States and Canada. However, few studies have examined the victimization experiences of sexual- and gender-identity forced migrants prior to their arrival in North America. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to explore the premigration adult victimization experiences of 26 lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals who obtained refugee, asylee, or withholding-of-removal status in the United States or Canada based on persecution for their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Participants originated from countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Analysis revealed the following themes: living on the edge, adopting concealment strategies, routine victimization, and protectors as perpetrators. Participants described living in a constant state of hypervigilance, and they adopted numerous strategies to protect themselves from victimization. Despite the use of such strategies, participants experienced victimization by community members and state actors, leaving them no choice but to flee to ensure their safety and well-being. Findings are discussed using the ecological framework outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). The discussion concludes with implications for international policy and clinical practice.

In dieser Arbeit wird „Heteronormativität“ als deskriptiver Begriff theoretisch fundiert und als jenes Dispositiv gefasst, welches queere Identitäten – äußerlich wie innerlich – verdrängt, und bis hin zur Depersonalisierung entstellt. Der Identitätsbegriff wird sowohl aus poststrukturalistischer als auch sozialkonstruktivistischer Perspektive kritisch hinterfragt und narrativ konzeptualisiert. Im Zentrum dieser qualitativen Studie stehen zehn queere, nach Österreich geflüchtete Personen aus Afrika, Asien und Osteuropa, deren wandlungsfähige, kreative Selbstentwürfe im Spannungsfeld zwischen ‚agency‘ und ‚structure‘ aus intersektionaler Perspektive herausgearbeitet und interpretiert werden.

Discourses relating to gender and sexualities have long been a tool for the perpetuation of racialized “othering”and have contributed to the strengthening of national identities and boundaries as they reproduce binary constructions of “us”and “them.”As the German nation-state reinvents itself as multicultural, tolerant,and sexually liberated, these discourses serve to mark the racialized body as a site of backwardness, sexism, and homophobia, and thus justify its segregation and exclusion exemplified in the restrictive practices of housing, mobility restrictions, and deportation of asylum seekers and migrants. This paper aims to trace the unfolding of discourses in and between some dominant organizational structures in Berlin that advocate for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. It argues that the claim for citizenship of some formerly excluded sexual others is contingent on the promotion of a very specific notion of sexual identity and participation in the orientalisation/ethnicisation of homophobia.

Asyl beziehungsweise Flüchtlingsschutz in Deutschland erhalten Menschen, die aufgrund ihrer politischen Überzeugung, Religion, Staatsangehörigkeit, aufgrund von Rassialisierungsprozessen oder der (vermeintlichen) Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten sozialen Gruppe in ihrem Herkunftsland verfolgt werden oder eine begründete Furcht davor nachweisen können. Seit einem Grundsatzurteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts 1988 wird die Verfolgung infolge von Homosexualität als Asylgrund gewertet. Im Anschluss daran werden nun prinzipiell auch Transgeschlecht-lichkeit, Bi-, und Intersexualität flüchtlingsrechtlich anerkannt. In diesem Aufsatz beschäftigte ich mich mit der Praxis des Anhörens und der Entscheidungsfindung in Asylverfahren von LGBTI-Geflüchteten. In den meisten kenntlich gemachten Fällen handelt es sich um Verfolgung homosexueller Männer, weibliche Homosexualität und Bisexualität kommen in Asylverfahren seltener als Fluchtgrund zur Sprache. Ich will die Verhandlung von Transgeschlechtlichkeit und Intersexualität in den Anhörungs- und Entscheidungsituationen nicht ausblenden, deren Mechanismen sicher mindestens ähnlich sind, aus eigener Forschung kann ich dazu aber wenig beitragen. Soweit mir dazu Erkenntnisse vorlagen, habe ich sie im Text eingearbeitet.

This chapter explores intersections of sexuality and ‘race’ by drawing on different projects: ethnographic research conducted in Manchester’s Gay Village and observations gathered through voluntary work with the grassroots organisation Lesbian Immigration Support Group (LISG) in Manchester. The chapter demonstrates that in both night-time lesbian leisure spaces and the asylum system in the UK, belonging to the group ‘lesbian’ is inherently racialised. In the Gay Village, some bodies are perceived and constructed as the ‘somatic norm’ while others are (made) ‘out of place’. The chapter argues that this norm is produced through representations, door policies, and other spatial practices. In the asylum system, for asylum claims based on sexuality to be successful the claimant must ‘prove’ their sexuality. The majority of sexuality cases are refused on grounds of credibility, where the claimant is not believed to be lesbian. The chapter demonstrates that these claims have a higher chance of success if the claimant conforms to homonormative notions that are racialised and constructed around a Western model of sexuality that is ‘out and proud’.

This working paper1 is based on a lecture given at the Summer School “Multiple Inequalities in the Age of Transnationalization”, June 23-27 2014 at Goethe University Frankfurt. In it, I explore the linkages between sexuality and migration and aim to show that instead of deeming them a narrow subfield of migration studies, thinking through these linkages has much wider implications for different fields, including post- and decolonial queer studies, the study of race and sexuality, the study of citizenship and state projects of inclusion/exclusion, and for work that attempts to ce-center the predominant knowledge production focused on the Global North.

Numerous studies demonstrate that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children and youth are likely to experience abuse by peers, parents, and other adults and that these experiences correlate with a host of mental health problems. However, there is little understanding of the experiences of LGBT children and youth living in countries where social and legal protections for sexual and gender minorities are limited or nonexistent. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to explore the child and adolescent abuse experiences and their impact on the pre-migration mental health of LGBT forced migrants. We analyzed 26 interviews with individuals who obtained refugee or asylee status in the United States or Canada on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Participants originated from countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Analysis revealed the following themes: abuse by parents and caregivers, abuse by peers and school personnel, having nowhere to turn, and dealing with psychological distress. Findings indicate that participants experienced severe verbal, physical, and sexual abuse throughout childhood and adolescence and that this abuse occurred at home, in school, and in the community. Furthermore, there were no resources or sources of protection available to them. Participants linked their abuse to subjective experiences of depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress, as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. We conclude with implications for refugee adjudication practices, mental health care, and international policy.

Der Schutz vor geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt in Flüchtlingsunterkünften weist erhebliche Defizite auf. Die Europaratskonvention gegen Gewalt gegen Frauen sieht detaillierte Verpflichtungen des Staates zum Schutz vor Gewalt vor. Diese beziehen sich auch auf geflüchtete Frauen, die aufgrund der strukturellen und rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen ihres Lebens in Unterkünften in ihrer Autonomie, ihrem Zugang zum Recht und damit in ihrer Wehrfähigkeit eingeschränkt sind. Das Papier gibt konkrete und detaillierte Empfehlungen für eine menschenrechtskonforme Weiterentwicklung des Gewaltschutzsystems für Asylsuchende und Geduldete in Flüchtlingsunterkünften.

For social workers striving for cultural competency and strength-based approaches with refugees resettled in the West, attention to the role of religion and faith as potential resources is particularly vital. With rising numbers of refugees fleeing from Islamic societies to Western host countries over the past two decades, social work research has articulated Islam as a source of strength and group solidarity, as well as the trigger for anti-Islam bias and discrimination. However, Muslims are not a monolithic group. This article reports on a qualitative study with fourteen Muslims seeking US asylum due to persecution based upon their gender role non-conforming behaviours. Findings suggest that, for persons in this category, relationships to religion and faith may be complex, and potentially traumatic. Creating opportunities for gender role non-conforming refugees from Islamic societies to discuss religion and spirituality, with appropriate psychological support and without judgements from co-ethnic others or service providers, is an important clinical intervention for social workers to consider.