campaigns > free to be me
Campaign success: Home Office introduce new guidelines for the assessment of lesbian and gay asylum claims
‘Free to be me’ campaign
Did you know that same-sex relationships are illegal in 80 countries? Just for being themselves, people face execution, rape and torture.
"As long as you're noticed, as long as you're recognised. you're victimised. Every day you have to hide. Every day in fear. Tomorrow you might die."
Harrison, Jamaican asylum seeker.
What was the problem?
Gay people who are persecuted for their sexual orientation are able to claim asylum in the UK. But all too often the process is unfair and degrading. Many of those who had fled homophobia and arrived in the UK were told they should go home and be ‘discreet’ about their sexuality.
People were also asked to ‘prove’ their sexuality in ways that were stereotypical and offensive. As a result, many were wrongly assessed and forced to go back home.
The Home Office didn’t understand that:
• If you've had to cover up being gay all your life, evidence of previous relationships is not easy to prove.
• You might be too scared to say you're gay at your first interview. If you've fled torture for being gay, being open with officials will be a terrifying ordeal.
• Even where same-sex relationships aren't illegal. people are cast out by their families, forced into marriages or violently attacked.
"They ask about who you have sex with, how many people and how many times. When you've never told anyone and now you have five people asking you questions about this - I found it difficult to talk about."
Adebayo, Nigerian asylum seeker.
See Medical Foundation website to read the story of a woman who fled Uganda
What did we want?
Refugee Action, along with other organisations including Stonewall and the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG), campaigned for the government to end the ‘discretion rule’ and accept that it was wrong to expect lesbian and gay people to go home and live a lie, and live with the constant fear of discovery.
We also wanted the UK Border Agency to introduce new training, to ensure that their staff who assess asylum claims, understood the law, culture and everyday practice that influence a gay person’s ability to live freely and safely in their country of origin.
What changed?
- In June 2010 the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government could no longer tell lesbian and gay people claiming asylum, to go home and be discreet. The government accepted the judgement.
- Over 1600 Refugee Action supporters sent emails and postcards to Home Secretary Theresa May, asking her to introduce better training for UK Border Agency staff who assessed asylum claims.
- In January 2011 the UK Border Agency announced a new ‘asylum consideration training course on sexual orientation’ for their staff.
Thank you to all of those who took action and helped achieve change.
What now?
Although we hope lesbian and gay people claiming asylum in the UK will now start to receive fair treatment, we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that this is the case.
We will also continue to press for lesbian and gay people who seek asylum, to only be dispersed to areas of the UK where there are specialist support and advice networks; and to be housed in accommodation where they do not have to fear discrimination.
Thank you to Stonewall for providing the quotes used.
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"I was taken away in a car by the secret police. It was terrifying. They interrogated me and accused me of being a foreign spy."