Experts call on government to better protect Queer people seeking asylum in the UK

Academics, charities and activists have sent a letter to the Home Secretary, calling for the government to implement changes to the Home Office system to better protect LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum and refugees from abuse.

The letter has been signed by organisations, experts and activists from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and calls on the government to; offer LGBTQI+-specific accommodation, establish a specially trained team to deal with sexual orientation, gender identities, gender expression, and sex characteristics claims, end immigration detention for LGBTQI+ claimants, increase access to legal aid, and give people seeking asylum the right to work.

The letter follows the publication of the Queer SEREDA report from the University of Birmingham and the charity Rainbow Migration, which offers support to LGBTQI+ people in the UK asylum system. The report details that people trying to escape their home country because of violence and discrimination due to their sexuality or gender identity, face dangerous living conditions, homophobic abuse from Home Office contractors and sexual harassment once they reach the UK.

Pip McKnight, Research and Impact Fellow at the University of Birmingham who led the Queer SEREDA report, said: “Through interviews with people seeking asylum and service providers, we have discovered numerous dangers and abuses faced by LGBTQI+ people in the UK asylum system. These range from assault in asylum accommodation to homophobic language being directed at them by interpreters in Home Office interviews and court hearings. Today we are calling on the Home Secretary and the government to take the steps outlined in the letter so that LGBTQI+ people, who are often vulnerable, are safe once they reach the UK.”

Minesh Parekh, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Rainbow Migration said: “LGBTQI+ people come here escaping unimaginable horrors and seeking safety, but the UK’s asylum system is failing to protect them. Our report shines a light on the dangers that LGBTQI+ people face while navigating the asylum system and now the government must act so that people are properly supported and safeguarded from harm while they seek to rebuild their lives in safety here.”

The report found that one of the biggest risks faced by queer migrants in the asylum system was unsafe Home Office accommodation. LGBTQI+ people are being housed in accommodation alongside people from the communities they are trying to escape, putting them at risk of harassment, and physical and sexual assault.

One trans woman was sexually harassed in lifts by other residents in asylum accommodation and followed to her bedroom by groups of men. In a separate incident, a service provider in Wales reported that a trans person seeking asylum was forced to hide in his room after being threatened with a knife by another resident. Unable to call the police, as there was no signal, he went downstairs and was accosted again and had his phone smashed. The housing provider classed this as a ‘household spat’ and took no action to safeguard the victim. The report also details that a ‘femme’ presenting gay man had to sleep with a chair against his door due to unwanted advances from other residents.

Respondents say that they were scared to report abuse in accommodation for fear of making the situation worse, or from fear of the police based on previous experiences. They say nothing was done about their reports of abuse. Some staff were reported to be harassing LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum - a trans woman was propositioned by her hotel’s security guard and the receptionist, who obtained her number from confidential records.

The report also details incidents of homophobia and transphobia from interpreters during asylum interviews and court hearings, as well as in translated materials. Some people reported incidents of interpreters refusing to translate words such as ‘gay’ and ‘bisexual’, not understanding basic concepts of sexual diversity, and perpetrating homophobic or transphobic abuse in interviews and court settings. Because no one else in the room speaks the language other than the person seeking asylum and the translator, no one knows it is happening.

The signatories say that the changes proposed in the letter would improve the safety of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum by removing them from unsafe accommodation and detention centres with hostile residents and staff, providing better training to reduce homophobic abuse from Home Office staff and contractors, helping claimants navigate the complex legal system, and by providing people with the opportunity to work, make them less vulnerable and open to exploitation.

Professor Jenny Phillimore, Chief Investigator on the SEREDA project at the University of Birmingham, concluded: “The UK is a country that we like to think of as overall pretty safe for LGBTQI+ people, but our research has shown that this does not extend to queer people seeking asylum. We need to create a system that protects people escaping persecution due to their sexual or gender identity from further abuse and harassment. This is totally within the government’s power, and they must act now to protect those in their care.”