LGBT asylum - useful information and support organisations
The UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group website
has detailed information about the UK asylum system and procedure. They also run monthly asylum legal meetings in
London where volunteer solicitors give general advice about the asylum process
and where you can meet other LGBT asylum seekers. Alternatively, you
can call their helpline on 020 7922 7811 – Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.
The Right To Remain ToolKit is a guide to the UK immigration
and asylum system. It gives an overview of the legal system and procedures,
with detailed information on rights and options at key stages, and actions you
can take in support of your claim, or to help someone else.
Link to government guidance explaining how asylum interviews for claims made on the basis of sexual identity are to be conducted:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexual-identity-issues-in-the-asylum-claim
Sexually explicit material cannot be accepted even if voluntarily submitted. Please see Government Asylum policy instructions dated March 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410098/Asylum_Interviews_AI.pdf
Sexually explicit material cannot be accepted even if voluntarily submitted. Please see Government Asylum policy instructions dated March 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410098/Asylum_Interviews_AI.pdf
Barrister S Chelvan is an expert
in asylum claims based on sexual or gender identity. He developed the Difference,
Stigma, Shame, Harm (DSSH) model as a way
of exploring and presenting asylum claims on the basis of sexual or gender
identity. The model has been endorsed by the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees in their International Protection Guidelines. Check out the following
link for a PDF of a presentation by S Chelvan on the DSSH model https://www.no5.com/cms/documents/DSSH%20Model%20and%20LGBTI%20Asylum%20Claims.pdf
The Peter Tatchell Foundation website has
guidance on the asylum process plus suggested contacts for country
statements http://www.petertatchell.net/asylum/asylumadvice.htm
Human
Dignity Trust report. It is
illegal to be lesbian in almost a quarter of the countries in the world. Breaking
the Silence: Criminalisation of Lesbians and Bisexual Women and its Impacts,
a 2016 report by The Human Dignity Trust highlights the issues lesbians and
bisexual women face rights due to the combination of their gender and sexuality.
Organisations offering assistance or guidance to LGBT asylum seekers in the UK:
National
UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group http://uklgig.org.uk/
Website has information the UK asylum system and procedure. They also run monthly asylum legal meetings in
London where volunteer solicitors give general advice about the asylum process
and where you can meet other LGBT asylum seekers as well as speak to our
members of staff in person. Alternatively, you can call their helpline
on 020 7922 7811 – Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.
African Rainbow
Family (ARF) https://africanrainbowfamily.org/
is a non-for-profit organisation that support lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender intersexual and queer (LGBTIQ) people of African heritage. It was
established in the wake of the toxic and draconian anti-gay laws, persecutions
and environment which seek to criminalise LGBTIQs for the preference of whom
they choose to love. ARF provides:
· Support LGBTIQ
Refugees and People Seeking Asylum
· Campaigning For
Global LGBTIQ Equality
· Stand Against
Hate Crimes
· Support
communities who face constant harassment, hate crimes and discrimination heaped
on them by an ignorant society because of their sexuality or sexual preferences
as well as transphobia
Persian LGBT Advisory Services (Birmingham but offer support UK wide)
http://www.persianlgbt.org.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/PLGBTA
Persian LGBT Advisory Services is an Asylum and Refugee support group
organisation which provides support and assistance to Persian speakers such as
Afghan,Tajikistan and Iranian Asylum seekers here in the UK.
Manchester
First Wednesday
Meetings of the First Wednesday group take place at the LGBT Foundation from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on the
first Wednesday of each month. Offer friendship, support and
encouragement, and guidance on where you can receive further support.
Leeds
No Going Back http://nogoingback.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Going-Back/265474863563532?fref=nf aims
to ensure liberty, equality and justice for LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. We
are here to provide legal representation to LGBT asylum seekers in the UK, who
have fled their country because of their sexual orientation.
Reach Out http://www.reachoutleeds.org/
ReachOUT meets every first and third Tuesday of the month in central Leeds. The
purpose of the group is to create a safe space for LGBTI refugees and asylum
seekers to come and make friends, develop a sense of community and boost
confidence by learning new skills through capacity building activities.
Sheffield
Lesbian Asylum
Support Sheffield (LASS) https://www.facebook.com/LASSheffield/
Supporting and empowering LBTQ+ and non
binary asylum seekers and refugees in Sheffield and across South Yorkshire. Meets
first Thursday of the
month from 6 – 8pm at Together Women Projects.
Newcastle
Rainbow Home – LGBT Asylum Seekers Group
http://www.mesmacnortheast.com/2013/10/rainbow-home-a-new-lgbt-asylum-seekers-group/
Rainbow Home is an LGBT Asylum Seekers Group run jointly by MESMAC North East
and Northern Lights (Metropolitan Community Church http://www.northernlightsmcc.org.uk/ ).
The group is a lunchtime social and support group for lesbian, gay, bi and
trans people who are seeking asylum in the UK or who have not yet settled here.
The group runs the 3rd Friday of the month. The group offers a safe space,
integration, motivation, friendship, belonging, confidence, inspiration, a
place to feel at home, a space for family and free vegetarian food.
Midlands
Nottingham lesbian Immigration Support Group
Meet monthly at Nottingham Women’s Centre
Can support asylum seekers and refugees to access the services and
activities at the LGBT Centre, including emotional support. You can also
arrange an appointment to see a fully trained and experienced advisor on LGBT
asylum and immigration. hold an advice
‘surgery’ once a month, on the third Wednesday, with an advisor from UK
Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG). There is also an asylum social group
run by Journey Church which meets at the Centre on the third Friday of the
month, from 1pm to 4pm. You can just turn up to this.
http://blgbt.org/asylum-seekers/ Journey MCC Asylum Social Group is an
inclusive social & support group for LGBT asylum seekers, providing a safe,
welcoming space in the heart of Birmingham
London
Out and Proud Diamond Group – Africa LGBThttp://www.opdg.org/
Members represent a wide cross-section of African countries including Gabon,
Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi , Uganda and
Jamaica. Working to promote equality for LGBTI persons in Africa and other
countries where LGBTI persons are persecuted
Rainbows Across Borders - Croydon
Rainbows Across Borders is a voluntary self-help group for lesbian, gay,
bisexual & transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution of
oppressive homophobic/transphobic regimes. The group is based in Croydon.
Scotland
Scottish Refugee Council has information and advice for LGBT asylum seekers on its website at the following link:
Wales
We are here to provide support and legal representation to people who
are seeking asylum in the UK because they fear persecution in their own country
due to their sexual orientation. We offer them free legal advice for their
asylum claims. We also commission experts to produce reports to help individual
cases and to highlight problems in particular countries.
Website links:
- The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission Africa branch is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. website: http://iglhrc.org/region/africa
- Rainbow International exists to empower LGBT rights activists working in countries where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are criminalised and face persecution. https://rainbow-international-fund.org/
- The Kaleidoscope Trust works to uphold the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people internationally. We believe that the rights of all people should be respected equally, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. https://kaleidoscopetrust.com/
- OutRight seeks to advance human rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people around the world. As an international LGBTIQ organization with a long history of productive and trusting relationships with grassroots LGBTIQ communities worldwide, we serve as a bridge between local communities and high-impact external levers of power https://www.outrightinternational.org/how-we-work
- LGBT
Asylum News
- Manchester
Pride
- LGBT
Youth North West
- The Lesbian and Gay
Foundation
- The
Pankhurst Centre Manchester
- Women Asylum
Seekers Together (WAST)
- Freedom
from Torture
- Refugee Action Greater Manchester
- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women's Services at
Trafford Rape Crisis Centre
- Movement
for Justice
- Safra Project
by and for Muslim LBT women
- Imaan
LGBTQI Muslim Support Group (London)
- Women for
Refugee Women
- Revive
(Manchester)
- Article on lesbian asylum seekers in 'Women's Asylum
News'
- Rights of
Women
- 'Seeking Refuge?: a Handbook for Asylum-Seeking Women'
- Rights of Women Publication
- 'Seeking Refuge' updates to law July 2012
Other links:
Lesbian Women In The Asylum System BBC
Radio 4 Woman's Hour 3 Feb 2014.
You can listen here - discussion
starts 20 minutes into programme.
Programme details:
January 2014 a major new report
was published by the charity Women for Refugee Women on the experience of
female asylum seekers detained in Britain. Almost 20 per cent of those
interviewed said they had fled persecution on grounds of sexual orientation.
The research suggests lesbian women face a number of obstacles when claiming
asylum in the UK - largely around “proving” their sexuality within a systematic
“culture of disbelief”. We hear from Alice (not her real name), a 26 year old
lesbian from Cameroon, who was detained in Yarl's Wood last year. To discuss
the issues raised, Jane is joined by Natasha Walter, co-founder of Women for
Refugee Women, and Tim Barnden, a lawyer specialising in asylum claims relating
to sexual orientation and Chair of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group.
Seeking Asylum in the UK: lesbian perspectives - Research
by Claire Bennett & Felicity Thomas
The Organization for Refuge, Asylum
and Migration's LGBTI
Refugee Project Portal contains projects and approaches that
enhance the protection of LGBTI forced migrants in the areas of refugee status
determination, policy development and research, practical protection measures,
durable solutions, and staff sensitization and development. The projects in
this portal are drawn from many countries, and bring forward ideas and
practices relevant to stakeholders across sectors and borders.
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