Queer asylum in Europe: Looking for the “true” LGBTIQ+ identity

To be granted asylum, LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers need to “prove” the “authenticity” of their non-conforming sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and/or sex characteristics. Previous research in the UK, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Greece shows that authorities’ focus on credibility assessment has moved from sexual practices to a conceptualization of queer as a fixed, narrowly defined sexual and gender identity realized early in childhood. To be recognized as “real” queer refugees, applicants are expected to have suffered in their countries of origin and have passed through a difficult and painful emotional process of self-realization and acceptance of their gender and sexuality. As previous research in different European asylum systems points out, these stereotypical expectations do not take into account the diversity and the complexity of LGBTIQ+ applicants’ lived experiences and disproportionally disqualify gendered, classed and racialized subjects who do not consume the gay culture as produced in the Global North. This seminar brings together five researchers and practitioners in the field of queer asylum discussing similarities in credibility assessment in five different European asylum systems.
Speakers:
Sabine Jansen, researcher in asylum law, COC Netherlands
Sonia Lenegan, Legal and Policy director, Rainbow Migration
Andrea Vige Grønningsæter, PhD candidate, University of Bergen
Aino Gröndahl, asylum lawyer, The Swedish Federation for LGBTQI Rights (RFSL)
Sophia Zisakou, asylum lawyer, PhD candidate Lund University