Stop the dubious credibility assessment of LGBTQ asylum seekers
In about ten countries, homosexuality is associated with the death penalty and in almost seventy countries there are long prison sentences that await LGBTQ people. The Swedish Migration Agency and the migration courts make decisions on the deportation of LGBTQ people to such countries after an arbitrary and legally uncertain credibility assessment.
West Pride demands that the government guarantees a legally just asylum process for LGBTQ people in Sweden.
Emma Gunterberg Sachs, General Manager of West Pride, said: “Letting an arbitrary process decide if LGBTQ refugees are approved asylum or not is inhumane. Far too many are wrongly sent back to a lifetime of persecution, imprisonment or death. We need to stop this now.”
The model is based on a stereotyping idea that all LGBTQ people have the same experiences of growing up in homophobic and transphobic societies. They are therefore expected to be able to tell in detail about their experiences in asylum investigations, which can be very difficult for people who are raised in cultures where LGBTQ is considered taboo, sinful and associated with legal sanctions. Finding words for what has been impossible to talk about or daring to open up in a new country where it is difficult to know what applies legally are just some of the obstacles that asylum seekers have to get through.
On June 1, West Pride launches a new campaign and petition
To highlight the problems with the current asylum process and to try to make a real difference, West Pride is now highlighting six different LGBTQ refugees' stories about their path through the Swedish asylum process. We have appointed them as Pride ambassadors and honorary members of West Pride to give them the credibility they currently need to stay. In connection with the campaign, West Pride is starting a petition that will be handed over to Minister for Migration Anders Ygeman on World Refugee Day on June 20.
Meet "Serena" from Iraq, "Ansumana" from Senegal, "Khalid" from Afghanistan, "Muhizi" from Rwanda, "Nour" from Morocco and "Farhad" from Iran. Read their poignant testimony about how they had to flee for their lives and how their identities are questioned by the Migration Agency and what life-devastating consequences it can have.
"I have seen friends stoned to death because of their sexual orientation and I would never be able to return to Iraq and live as who I am. I have the courage to take my own life if I have to return," says "Serena" one of the asylum seekers.
Read more about the campaign and the LGBTQ asylum seekers on West Pride's website and ambassadorsofpride.com
Press Contact
Emma Gunterberg Sachs
emma@westpride.se
+46 72 579 23 20
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