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{{Short description|Migratory movement of LGBTI people}}
{{LGBT rights|expanded=aspects}}'''LGBT migration''' is the movement of [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]]
== History ==
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=== Background ===
In many countries in the world, homosexuality and being transgender is criminalized.
This criminalization of LGBT individuals has led to an increase in recent decades of the number of LGBT individuals who seek refuge in other countries, who are left with no other choice but to leave their home country.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=LGBTIQ+ persons |url=https://www.unhcr.org/lgbtiq-persons.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=UNHCR |language=en}}</ref>
The criminalization of LGBT individuals is not the only factor behind their migration. In many countries in the world, homosexual or transgender people are treated badly by other citizens, relatives, and/or authorities.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=thisisloyal.com |first=Loyal {{!}} |title=LGBTQI+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbtqi-refugees-asylum-seekers/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>
With LGBT people being marginalized in their home countries because of their sexual orientation or identity, they attempt migrate to more accepting countries where chances of a safer and more financially successful life are higher.<ref name=":12">Wood, S. (2016) "Migration, Mobility, and Marginalisation: Consequences for Sexual and Gender Minorities", IDS Policy Briefing 118, Brighton: IDS</ref>
Although there are anti-discriminatory laws and policies in many countries of the world, LGBT people still face social, economic, and legal challenges as well as stigmatization. As a result, they choose to migrate to more LGBT-friedly areas.<ref name=":12"/>
Some LGBT people opt to migrate as asylum-seekers. According to the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees, an individual can be considered to be a refugee if they are outside of their country of origin and cannot seek protection in their home country on the grounds of a fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinions.<ref name=":02"/>
In many Western nations, LGBT people coming from LGBT-unfriendly countries are regarded as vulnerable members of a particular social group. However, there are LGBT individuals who do not migrate as refugees. Such people also migrate via education, working, marriage and so on.
==By region==
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===North America===
In the beginning of the 20th century, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and used to bar homosexuals from immigrating into the United States, and Canada.<ref name=bashford/> Canada allowed for homosexual immigration in 1991.<ref name="
==== Mexico ====
Studies on LGBT migration in the [[Mexico]]-[[Central America]] region have indicated that LGBT individuals are particularly vulnerable to violence stemming from [[homophobia]] or [[transphobia]], as well as risks such as physical and [[sexual violence]], experiences many have already endured throughout their lives, often resulting in trauma. Many LGBT migrants, particularly [[gay men]] and [[Trans woman|trans women]], engage in or return to [[sex work]] during waiting periods to survive and continue their journeys, exposing themselves to violence and risks to their physical and emotional health.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cortés |first=Almudena |date=2018-06-19 |title=Violencia de género y frontera: migrantes centroamericanas en México hacia los EEUU |url=https://www.erlacs.org/article/10.18352/erlacs.10321/ |journal=European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies {{!}} Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe |issue=105 |pages=39 |doi=10.18352/erlacs.10321 |issn=1879-4750}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Llanes-Díaz |first1=Nathaly |last2=Odgers-Ortiz |first2=Olga |last3=Bojórquez-Chapela |first3=Ietza |last4=Valenzuela-Barreras |first4=José Francisco |date=December 2023 |title=Narrative strategies to re-signify sexual violence among gender and sexuality diverse Central American migrants in Tijuana |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691058.2023.2233579 |journal=Culture, Health & Sexuality |language=en |volume=25 |issue=12 |pages=1612–1625 |doi=10.1080/13691058.2023.2233579 |pmid=37477878 |issn=1369-1058}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Soria-Escalante |first1=Hada |last2=Alday-Santiago |first2=Alejandra |last3=Alday-Santiago |first3=Erika |last4=Limón-Rodríguez |first4=Natalia |last5=Manzanares-Melendres |first5=Pamela |last6=Tena-Castro |first6=Adriana |date=April 2022 |title="We All Get Raped": Sexual Violence Against Latin American Women in Migratory Transit in Mexico |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10778012211013909 |journal=Violence Against Women |language=en |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=1259–1281 |doi=10.1177/10778012211013909 |pmid=34096387 |issn=1077-8012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yarwood |first1=Vanessa |last2=Checchi |first2=Francesco |last3=Lau |first3=Karen |last4=Zimmerman |first4=Cathy |date=2022-01-13 |title=LGBTQI + Migrants: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework of Health, Safety and Wellbeing during Migration |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=869 |doi=10.3390/ijerph19020869 |doi-access=free |pmid=35055698 |pmc=8775429 |issn=1660-4601}}</ref>
Moreover, they encounter social inequalities such as [[racism]], [[xenophobia]], and economic oppression during their migration journeys. In the case of trans women, some are compelled to present themselves in a masculine manner during migration, impacting their gender expression, for which many were threatened and persecuted in their countries of origin.<ref name=":9" />
During bureaucratic processes, LGBT individuals seeking legal migration face homophobia or transphobia, as well as systems ill-equipped to handle their cases and instances of abuse of power. Transgender individuals, especially women, frequently experience sexual assaults and discrimination in shelters where they are denied spaces corresponding to their gender identity. In shelters dedicated to LGBT migrants specifically, their freedom to express gender and sexuality is compromised by controls over aspects such as friendships, sexual relationships, and expressions of love.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cadena |first1=Kenia Ortiz |last2=Castañeda-Camey |first2=Nicté |last3=Sánchez |first3=Rubén García |date=September 2020 |title=Migrantes LGBT+ en las caravanas centroamericanas hacia Estados Unidos: dilemas y posibilidades para la construcción de redes de hospitalidad |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-85852020000300071&tlng=es |journal=REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana |volume=28 |issue=60 |pages=71–94 |doi=10.1590/1980-85852503880006005 |issn=2237-9843}}</ref>[[File:2019 CSD Kölm 058.jpg|thumb|LGBT refugees at a demonstration in [[Cologne]], [[Germany]], 2019.]]
==== Canada ====
{{See also|LGBT refugees and asylum seekers in Canada}}
Research among LGBT immigrants in Canada shows that support groups specifically designed for African and Caribbean LGBT immigrants have a multitude of benefits, including better mental health, employment, and housing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Logie |first1=Carmen H. |last2=Lacombe-Duncan |first2=Ashley |last3=Lee-Foon |first3=Nakia |last4=Ryan |first4=Shannon |last5=Ramsay |first5=Hope |date=2016-07-02 |title="It's for us –newcomers, LGBTQ persons, and HIV-positive persons. You feel free to be": a qualitative study exploring social support group participation among African and Caribbean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender newcomers and refugees in Toronto, Canada
====United States====
{{See also|Same-sex immigration policy in the United States}}
In the United States, the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]] became the first policy to explicitly prevent "sexual deviates" from entering the country, and it also required the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] (INS) to deport these individuals.<ref>Pickert, Jeremiah. "Immigration for Queer Couples: A Comparative Analysis Explaining the United
Since "sexual deviance" was regarded as a medical condition, sexual minority immigrants used to be banned from entering the United States for a long period of time. In 1994, a new policy was introduced that allowed sexual minorities to be regarded as members of a particular social group that might face persecution in their home country. After introduction of this policy LGBT people became qualifying for asylum seeking in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shuman |first1=Amy |last2=Bohmer |first2=Carol |date=December 2014 |title=Gender and cultural silences in the political asylum process |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460714552262 |journal=Sexualities |language=en |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=939–957 |doi=10.1177/1363460714552262 |issn=1363-4607}}</ref>
In the United States, judges and immigration officials require that homosexuality must be socially visible in order for sexual persecution to be a viable complaint. Additionally, homosexuality must be a permanent and inherent characteristic to be considered by U.S. immigration officials.<ref name="glen.ie">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062317/http://www.glen.ie/attachments/b71882f9-c67f-4ad7-84ed-03e50ecd8e5a.PDF Gay Lesbian Equality Network. 2011. “Immigration Provisions in Ireland.”]</ref> Currently, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will consider LGBT refugee and asylum claims in their immigration courts, but as a result of cumbersome legal processes, LGBT individuals who are applying for asylum often have a difficult time representing themselves properly in court.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alvarez-Hernandez|first=Luis|title=Whose Land of the Free? Latina Transgender Immigrants in the United States|url=http://www.iisb.org/pdf/june2019/23.%20Whose%20Land%20of%20the%20Free%20Latina%20Transgender%20Immigrants%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf|journal=Indian Journal of Health, Sexuality, & Culture|volume=5|pages=135–147}}</ref>▼
▲In the United States, judges and immigration officials require that homosexuality must be socially visible in order for sexual persecution to be a viable complaint. Additionally, homosexuality must be a permanent and inherent characteristic to be considered by U.S. immigration officials.<ref name="glen.ie">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062317/http://www.glen.ie/attachments/b71882f9-c67f-4ad7-84ed-03e50ecd8e5a.PDF Gay Lesbian Equality Network. 2011.
===Europe===
{{See also|LGBT rights in Europe}}[[File:Burning of Sodomites.jpg|thumb|The [[Richard Puller von Hohenburg|knight of Hohenberg]] burned with his servant for sodomy, Zurich 1482]]
Today, Europe is generally very tolerant of LGBT people,{{vague|date=October 2022}} but this also creates a divide between tolerant countries, which are seen as more "civilized" and "western," and homophobic and/or transphobic countries, which are left seeming "backward."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ammaturo |first=Francesca Romana |date=2015 |title=The 'Pink Agenda': Questioning and Challenging European Homonationalist Sexual Citizenship |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44016777 |journal=Sociology |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=1151–1166 |doi=10.1177/0038038514559324 |jstor=44016777 |s2cid=147363271 |issn=0038-0385}}</ref> Many LGBT refugees seeking asylum in European countries have difficulty proving that they are "queer enough" to be granted asylum.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mole |first=Richard C.M. |title=Queer Russian asylum seekers in Germany: Worthy refugees and acceptable forms of harm? |chapter=Queer Russian asylum seekers in Germany |date=2020 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv13xprtw.26 |work=Refuge in a Moving World |pages=273–288 |editor-last=Fiddian-Qasmiyeh |editor-first=Elena |series=Tracing refugee and migrant journeys across disciplines |publisher=UCL Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv13xprtw.26 |jstor=j.ctv13xprtw.26 |isbn=978-1-78735-318-3 |s2cid=225549416 |access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref> Up until 2010, LGBT asylum seekers were often told to return to their home countries and "be discreet" about their identities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raboin |first=Thibaut |title=Advocacy for LGBTI asylum in the UK: Discourses of distance and proximity |chapter=Advocacy for LGBTI asylum in the UK |date=2020 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv13xprtw.17 |work=Refuge in a Moving World |pages=145–156 |editor-last=Fiddian-Qasmiyeh |editor-first=Elena |series=Tracing refugee and migrant journeys across disciplines |publisher=UCL Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv13xprtw.17 |jstor=j.ctv13xprtw.17 |isbn=978-1-78735-318-3 |s2cid=225577607 |access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref> In the [[European Union]], transgender EU citizens enjoy the right to free movement, although in reality they face many significant hurdles and, as a consequence, have access only to a limited form of [[European Union citizenship|Union citizenship]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lashyn |first=Serhii |date=2022-07-01 |title=Transgender EU Citizens and the Limited Form of Union Citizenship available to them |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-022-09491-9 |journal=Feminist Legal Studies |language=en |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=201–218 |doi=10.1007/s10691-022-09491-9 |pmid=35855394 |issn=1572-8455|pmc=9284088 }}</ref>
==== Great Britain ====
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Irish LGBT immigrants often experience vulnerability in the absence of family networks, which is exacerbated in the context of homophobia and sexual discrimination. Legal protection against sexual discrimination in employment was only introduced in the UK in 2003. Even when legislative provisions and support are in place, homophobia continues to make life and the process of migration difficult for queer migrants.<ref name="flood2" /> Irish immigrants tend to experience racial and ethnic privilege over immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa, but at the same time still face homophobia and transphobia that heterosexual and cisgender immigrants do not.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McElhinny |first=Paul |date=2020 |title=Intersections between Queer, Irish, and Caribbean Migrants to London in Neil Jordan's "Last Rites" |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/766613 |journal=Intertexts |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=76–96 |doi=10.1353/itx.2020.0004 |s2cid=243339991 |issn=2156-5465}}</ref>
===Africa===
====Uganda====
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===Asia===
LGBT rights in Asia are constrained significantly. LGBT people face discrimination, marginalization, and, in some Asian countries, criminalization, including death penalty. LGBT migrants from Asian countries constitute a big proportion of asylum-seekers. There are only a few countries in Asia that are LGBT-friendly countries. LGBT individuals in Asia migrate from less tolerant to more LGBT-friendly areas both domestically and internationally.{{See also|LGBT rights in Asia}}'''Taiwan'''
▲{{See also|LGBT rights in Asia}}
{{See also|LGBT rights in Taiwan}}
In 2017, same-sex marriage was were legalized in Taiwan. Taiwan was the first East Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. The legalization of same-sex marriage marriages makes Taiwan attractive to LGBT migrants from other Asian countries.<ref>Chang, Hsin-Chieh. (2019). Marriage Migration in Asia: The migration of LGBTQ persons for reasons of marriage between Asian countries.</ref>
====Israel====
{{See also|LGBT rights in Israel}}
Compared to its Middle Eastern neighbors, Israel has more LGBT-supportive policies for Israeli citizens, and it accepts LGBT asylum applicants. Israel ratified the UN Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951, which theoretically gives protection or asylum to anyone with a "well-founded fear of being persecuted" and forbids the deportation of refugees to the country where their lives were initially threatened. This policy has not been explicitly followed by Israel.<ref>{{cite web |date=6 June 2011 |title=Israel's Treatment of Gay Palestinian Asylum Seekers The Washington Note by Steve Clemons |url=http://washingtonnote.com/israels_treatme/ |access-date=6 November 2013 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010061333/http://washingtonnote.com/israels_treatme/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result, Middle Eastern migration of LGBT people to Israel has been seen.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schaefer |first=Brian |date=23 March 2013 |title=The White City at the End of the Rainbow |newspaper=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-the-white-city-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow-1.5235384}}</ref> However, Israel has a rule against granting asylum to Palestinian LGBT people on the basis that "there is no systematic persecution based on sexual orientation in the Palestinian Authority".{{sfn|Atshan|2020|pp=101–102}}
However, critics point out that the state of Israel has used the issue of gay rights as a way to distract attention from other human rights abuses perpetrated by the state (a practice called [[homonationalism]] - [[Pinkwashing (LGBT)|pinkwashing]] when referring to businesses) and revitalize the nation's image in the international community.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=David |date=May 13, 2011 |title=Is Israel Using Gay Rights to Excuse Its Policy on Palestine? |work=Time Magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2070415,00.html |access-date=July 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schulman |first=Sarah |date=2011-11-22 |title=Opinion {{!}} Israel and 'Pinkwashing' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/opinion/pinkwashing-and-israels-use-of-gays-as-a-messaging-tool.html |access-date=2020-07-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |author=Nolcollective |date=June 29, 2020 |title="To celebrate Pride, you need to know about pinkwashing" (infographic series) |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CCArPXcAUyE/ |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CCArPXcAUyE |archive-date=2021-12-24 |website=Instagram, @aswatfreedoms}}{{cbignore}}</ref> These critics suggest that, in actuality, Tel Aviv and Israel at large are strongly divorced from the experiences and goals of queer communities across the rest of the MENA region.<ref name=":7" /> According to anthropologist [[Sa'ed Atshan]], pinkwashing includes "representing Israel as a gay haven for Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals in order to attract tourism and other forms of solidarity and support".{{sfn|Atshan|2020|p=72}}
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====Turkey====
Turkey is both a country of origin and a country of asylum for LGBT refugees. The exact number of arriving or fleeing LGBT asylum seekers in Turkey is unknown since the state does not provide migration statistics concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. However, academic researches show that LGBT asylum seekers arrive in Turkey from North and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Middle East.<ref>Who is
==Current trends of migration==
Prominent countries known for substantial LGBT emigration include Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Brazil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.trust.org/item/20130426183832-eil0p/|title=Asylum system humiliates gay refugees|first=Thomson Reuters|last=Foundation|website=news.trust.org}}</ref><ref name="Dan, Bilefsky 2011">Dan, Bilefsky. "Gays Seeking Asylum in U.S. Encounter a New Hurdle." NY Times, January 28, 2011.</ref><ref name=Mayton>Mayton, Joseph. LGBT Rights, "Gay, Muslim, and Seeking Asylum." Last modified June 18, 2013. Accessed October 20, 2013.</ref>
LGBT immigrants are seen frequently to immigrate to Canada, Britain, and the United States.<ref name=Mayton/> In 1994, U.S. immigration law recognized sexual persecution as grounds for seeking asylum. U.S. president Barack Obama ordered federal agencies to provide asylum for persecuted LBGTQ persons.<ref>''U.S. News & World Report'': [https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/12/06/obama-offers-asylum-to-overseas-gays Obama Offers Asylum to Overseas Gays.] December 6, 2011.</ref>
Data shows nearly 4,400 people sought asylum from 2007 to 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-proposals-threaten-lgbtq-asylum-seekers-hopes-refuge-u-s-n1236736 |last=Fitzsimons |first=Tim |title=Trump proposals threaten LGBTQ asylum-seekers' hopes of refuge in U.S. |date=August 20, 2020 |website=ABC News |access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref> But the exact number of LGBT people seeking asylum into the United States is not known as of 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/13/do-lgbtq-asylum-seekers-have-future-united-states |last=Ghoshal |first=Neela |title=Do LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers Have a Future in the United States? |date=October 13, 2020 |publisher=The Advocate |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref>
The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that there are approximately 4.4 million asylum seekers and 26.6 million refugees worldwide. However, it is unknown how many migrants are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.<ref name=":02"/>
In reference to domectic LGBT migration, moving from smaller towns or rural areas to big cities is the most common trend of migration.<ref name=":12"/>
== Asylum seekers and immigrants ==
Refugees, defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ([[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]), are displaced persons who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Real queer? : sexual orientation and gender identity refugees in the Canadian refugee apparatus|author=Murray, David A. B.|isbn=9781783484409|location=London|oclc=935326236|year = 2015}}</ref> LGBT refugees are those who are persecuted due to their sexuality or gender orientation and are unable to find protection from their home nation. Individuals can seek refugee status or asylum in several different ways: they can register at
=== Navigating the system ===
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Due to the nature of sexuality and gender claims, applicants often encounter issues with the credibility of their stories.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> Sexuality and gender identification is a private expression that cannot be determined by appearance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vogler|first=Stefan|date=2016|title=Legally Queer: The Construction of Sexuality in LGBQ Asylum Claims|journal=Law & Society Review|volume=50|issue=4|pages=856–889|doi=10.1111/lasr.12239}}</ref> In seeking asylum, applicants are expected to prove their sexual or gender orientation as a proof of being a part of a particular social membership. They are also expected to prove that they are in fear of their life.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Forbear|first=Katherine|date=2015|title="I Thought We Had No Rights" - Challenges in Listening, Storytelling, and Representation of LGBT Refugees|journal=Studies in Social Justice|volume=9}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Applicants applying for asylum due to sexual orientation are asked to present an "identity narrative".<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Wagner|first=Neva|date=Winter 2016|title=B is for Bisexual: The Forgotten Letter in U.K. Sexual Orientation Asylum Reform|journal=Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems|volume=26}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> There are several different credibility obstacles that applicants face during the application process.
The process of proving bad experiences in home countries is one of the biggest challenges for LGBT asylum seekers. Many LGBT asylum seekers do not have any written records of being persecuted in their home countries which could increase their chances of being granted political asylum. They are also likely to find it difficult to explain their identity and past experiences in a way that is expected from them by immigration officials. LGBT migrants may not be familiar with the appropriate "identity narrative". LGBT asylum seekers might also feel fear, guilt, or shame to talk about their sexuality or identity. Some of them may have been psychologically traumatized in their home countries, which also prevents them from successfully proving their bad experiences.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/22021097106 |title=Seeking Sanctuary: Stories of Sexuality, Faith and Migration |date=2021 |publisher=Wits University Press |doi=10.18772/22021097106.7|jstor=10.18772/22021097106 }}</ref>
According to Neva Wagner, asylum claims in the United Kingdom face a "notorious challenge". Over 98% of sexual orientation claims were denied in the United Kingdom between 2005 and 2009, compared to the 76.5% refusal rating for all asylum applicants. Bisexual claimants face an even greater challenge due to their dual sexuality. In bisexuality claims, claimants must demonstrate that they are at risk for persecution, even if their sexuality allows them to act in a heterosexual manner.▼
▲According to Neva Wagner, asylum claims in the United Kingdom face a "notorious challenge". Over 98% of sexual orientation claims were denied in the United Kingdom between 2005 and 2009, compared to the 76.5% refusal rating for all asylum applicants
British claimants also require evidence from an "expert witness"--someone with expertise on the country in which the person seeks asylum--and some countries require a medical documentation of physical and psychological harm done. These requirements decrease the credibility of the asylum seeker's own testimony as well as relying on [[Homonationalism|homonationalist]] ideas to determine who is "queer enough".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Murray |first=David A. B. |date=2016 |title=Queer Forms: Producing Documentation in Sexual Orientation Refugee Cases |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43955539 |journal=Anthropological Quarterly |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=465–484 |doi=10.1353/anq.2016.0035 |jstor=43955539 |s2cid=152136033 |issn=0003-5491}}</ref>▼
Bisexual claimants face an even greater challenge in providing evidence that immigration officials expect in asylum cases due to their dual sexuality. This can lead to a lack of clarity and understanding of their experiences.<ref>{{Citation |last=Klesse |first=Christian |title=On the government of bisexual bodies: asylum case law and the biopolitics of bisexual erasure |date=2021 |work=Queer Migration and Asylum in Europe |pages=109–131 |editor-last=Mole |editor-first=Richard C. M. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv17ppc7d.13 |access-date=2024-04-02 |publisher=UCL Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv17ppc7d.13 |jstor=j.ctv17ppc7d.13 |isbn=978-1-78735-587-3}}</ref> In bisexuality claims, claimants must demonstrate that they are at risk for persecution, even if their sexuality allows them to act in a heterosexual manner. The common preassumption that bisexuals are able to choose partners from the opposite sex is one of the main reasons why they have more obstacles in the process of asylum seeking.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thisisloyal.com |first=Loyal {{!}} |title=LGBTQI+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbtqi-refugees-asylum-seekers/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>
Lawyer S Chelvan reported to the ''Huffington Post'' that the use of pornographic evidence—individuals taping themselves having sex with same sex partners—has risen due to challenges to credibility of queer claims. Furthermore, immigration officials have refused witnesses for the credibility of queer asylum claims if the witness did not have sex with applicant. Credibility becomes an issue, as many refugees keep their identity as being queer a secret from their own family and friends in order to avoid persecution.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Shuman|first1=Amy|last2=Hesford|first2=Wendy S|date=2014-10-31|title=Getting Out: Political asylum, sexual minorities, and privileged visibility|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=17|issue=8|pages=1016–1034|doi=10.1177/1363460714557600|s2cid=147162592|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/a637e25505a177bb9a189bdabe1f552a70bb523d}}</ref>▼
▲British claimants also require evidence from an "expert witness"
▲Lawyer S Chelvan reported to the ''Huffington Post'' that the use of pornographic evidence—individuals taping themselves having sex with same sex partners—has risen due to challenges to credibility of queer claims. Furthermore, immigration officials have refused witnesses for the credibility of queer asylum claims if the witness did not have sex with applicant. Credibility becomes an issue, as many refugees keep their identity as being queer a secret from their own family and friends in order to avoid persecution.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Shuman|first1=Amy|last2=Hesford|first2=Wendy S|date=2014-10-31|title=Getting Out: Political asylum, sexual minorities, and privileged visibility|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=17|issue=8|pages=1016–1034|doi=10.1177/1363460714557600|s2cid=147162592
=== Cultural differences in gender and narratives ===
The first step in verifying eligibility for asylum-seekers and refugee applicants is the initial investigation into why asylum is being sought. This is often done through applicant narratives, where the applicant is asked questions about their experiences and are evaluated in how their stories match the eligibility requirements.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> In the U.K., initial credibility determinations are given great significance. Initial determinations are not reviewable by appeal, and if credibility is examined, initial determinations are given precedence.<ref name=":3" /> Retelling their experiences can be traumatic and unaligned with a chronological telling that is expected in Westernized narratives.<ref name=":2" /> Some asylum seekers may not identify with any of the accepted terminology in the country to which they migrate, such as "lesbian" or "bisexual". They may understand their experience as more fluid, informed by the standards of queerness in the country from which they emigrated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Murray |first=David A.B. |date=2014 |title=Real Queer: "Authentic" LGBT Refugee Claimants and Homonationalism in the Canadian Refugee System |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24469638 |journal=Anthropologica |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=21–32 |jstor=24469638 |issn=0003-5459}}</ref> There is also an inherent gendered expectation in narratives. Rachel Lewis writes that "The racialized, classed, and gendered stereotypes of male homosexual identity typically invoked by asylum adjudicators pose particular challenges to lesbian asylum applicants."<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=Rachel A|date=2014-10-31|title="Gay? Prove it": The politics of queer anti-deportation activism|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=17|issue=8|pages=958–975|doi=10.1177/1363460714552253|s2cid=144326109}}</ref>
Women face additional obstacles, whether they are lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, or heterosexual. Women's narratives of persecution often take place in the home, so the violence experienced by females is often taken less seriously than males.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Berger|first=Susan A.|date=2009-03-01|title=Production and Reproduction of Gender and Sexuality in Legal Discourses of Asylum in the United States|journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society|volume=34|issue=3|pages=659–685|doi=10.1086/593380|s2cid=144293440|issn=0097-9740}}</ref> Rachel Lewis argues that same-sex female desires and attraction are often overlooked in the U.K. cases, and applicants face a "lack of representational space within [[Heteronormativity|heteronormative]] asylum narratives for the articulation of same-sex desire."<ref name=":6" /> Simply put, lesbian narratives
===Demographics===
Many LGBT refugees experienced abuse as children, and though the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is working to protect LGBT children, there is still significant room for improvement.{{according to whom|date=October 2022}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gerber |first1=Paula |last2=Timoshanko |first2=Aaron |date=15 May 2021 |title=Is the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Doing Enough to Protect the Rights of LGBT Children and Children with Same-Sex Parents? |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngab012 |journal=Human Rights Law Review |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=786–836 |doi=10.1093/hrlr/ngab012 |via=Oxford University Press}}</ref>
=== Psychological aspect of LGBT migration ===
Research indicates that LGBT asylum seekers may suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to emotional traumas that they faced in their home countries as well as while going through the immigration process.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thisisloyal.com |first=Loyal {{!}} |title=LGBTQI+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbtqi-refugees-asylum-seekers/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also==
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*{{cite book |last1=Atshan |first1=Sa'ed |title=Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique |date=2020 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-1240-2 |chapter=Global Solidarity and the Politics of Pinkwashing}}
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