Database

Asylum seekers making claims relating to their sexual orientation and gender identity often face unfair refusal. New guidance from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada takes admirable steps towards improving claims assessment, and offers a model for practitioners elsewhere.

This paper focuses on the burden of proof that queer asylum seekers encounter in Norway and how they tackle it. It is argued that queer asylum seekers translate their sexuality, sometimes strategically, to become readable in the Norwegian context. The act of translation appears to take the form of a ‘rainbow splash’ over the lives of the informants. The recurrence of similar narratives painted with similar colours contributes to a monolithic portrayal of sexualised and racialised asylum seekers, as they are unable to incorporate their own vocabularies during the act of translation. As a result, queer informants contribute to the (re)production of new norms about what it means to be a genuine queer person in need of protection. Therefore, genuineness remains an unattainable ideal for individuals seeking to negotiate their sexuality before, during and after the asylum seeking process.

In 2015, more than 600,000 individuals from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan fled to Europe in search of protection. Among the most understudied of this population are individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ). These individuals have not only fled war but also violence due to their sexual and/or gender identities. At the same time, LGBTQ individuals from other parts of the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and North Africa have also fled to Europe to escape persecution. The purpose of this multimethod study was to understand how traumatic stress shaped the experiences of 38 LGBTQ individuals who fled to Austria (n = 19) and the Netherlands (n = 19) from these regions. We assessed participants for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and conducted qualitative interviews to understand their migration experiences. Of the 37 participants assessed for PTSD, 33 (89.2%) reported that their most distressing event occurred prior to migration. For the 24 (64.9%) participants who met criteria for a provisional diagnosis of PTSD, 15 reported that the precipitating event was related to their sexual and/or gender identities and 9 reported that it was related to another type of event (e.g., war). Grounded theory was used to analyze qualitative data. Themes demonstrated that participants encountered targeted violence and abuse throughout migration and upon their arrival in Austria and the Netherlands. Findings indicate that LGBTQ refugees may be vulnerable to ongoing trauma from other refugees and immigration officials. Recommendations for protecting and supporting LGBTQ refugees during humanitarian emergencies are provided.

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.

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.

Each year, thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers apply for asylum in EU Member States.This book considers the position of LGBTI asylum seekers in European asylum law. Developing an encompassing approach to the topic, the book identifies and analyzes the main legal issues arising in relation to LGBTI people seeking asylum including: the underestimation of the relevance of criminalization of sexual orientation as well as the large scale violence against trans people in countries of origin by some European states; the requirement to seek State protection against violence even when they originate from countries where sexual orientation or gender identity is criminalized, or where the authorities are homophobic; the particular hurdles faced during credibility assessment on account of persisting stereotypes; and queer families and refugee law.

The book gives a state of the art overview of law in Europe, both at the level of European legislation and at the level of Member State practice. While being largely focused on Europe, the book also takes into account asylum decisions from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States and is of relevance internationally, offering analysis of issues which are not specific to particular legal systems.

This study tackles the question how state development cooperation can work on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in countries where these issues are criminalized and where Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Inter persons (LGBTI) are socially stigmatized. The study starts with an analysis of the human rights obligations relating to sexual orientation and gender identity and how they relate to development cooperation. It then addresses how working on sexual orientation and gender identity furthers the global devel–opment agenda of poverty reduction. A subsequent chapter illustrates how LGBTI activists work and the conditions they face. This includes the way human rights are understood and framed in their respective countries. The study argues that development cooperation has to take this into account in order not to generate negative consequences for LGBTI activism and activists. The study then explores how different aspects of state development cooperation – such as aid cuts, pro–gramme design, modes of aid delivery and internal staff policies – may promote or endanger work on sex–ual orientation and gender identity. Last but not least, the study points to those areas where development cooperation has still not considered or reached LGBTI groups. To close the analysis, interviews with LGBTI activists demonstrate that the Universal Periodic Review and the work of National Human Rights Institutions have potential of promoting SOGI human rights.