Standing with LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum

Recent reporting by BBC on LGBTQ+ asylum claims has sparked significant debate across the sector. We believe it is important to engage with these conversations carefully and responsibly.

We are proud to stand alongside more than 100 organisations in signing a joint statement coordinated by Rainbow Migration, which raises concerns about the potential impact of recent media coverage on already marginalised communities.

“…For LGBTQI+ people, asylum can be a lifeline. Globally, nearly 70 countries criminalise same-sex relations. LGBTQI+ people who have fled imprisonment, torture and even the death penalty are forced to navigate a hostile asylum system that requires them to “prove” their sexual orientation or gender identity. Added to this is the complexity of many having spent  their lives hiding or denying who they are to stay safe from violence. The result is that they are frequently disbelieved.”

Law Centres Network has provided a helpful analysis of the issue, focusing on the wider context of the asylum system, including the challenges people face in accessing quality legal advice and the difficulties involved in evidencing deeply personal aspects of their lives.

Law Centres see women who have fled domestic abuse - who have had passports confiscated, movements controlled and communications monitored - turned away by police when they finally seek help, despite clear evidence of harm. They have seen perpetrators using Home Office processes to continue patterns of control, people detained in immigration removal centres whose medical assessments document torture, abuse and PTSD, and who are then released without support, documentation or any clear pathway to safety. And throughout all of this runs a chronic absence of accessible, early legal advice - leaving people to find their way to a Law Centre only through chance: a referral from a refuge worker, a food bank volunteer, or a stranger’s intervention.

You can read their response here:

For many of the people we support, navigating the asylum system is complex, uncertain and overwhelming. As an organisation working closely with refugees and people seeking asylum, we will continue to contribute to these discussions in a way that is grounded in the realities we see every day — focusing on both integrity in the system and dignity for those within it.