Gay asylum seekers face bigotry and hostility – report

The report, LGBTI+ Asylum Seekers in SA: A Review of Refugee Status Denials Involving Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity, released last week, has found evidence that LGBT refugees are being denied asylum in SA, despite being ‘eligible for protection under international and domestic law’. A GroundUp report says the authors surveyed denial letters for 67 asylum applicants who had applied for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). The letters were written by 32 Refugee Status Determination Officers in Cape Town, Musina, Gqeberha and Pretoria between 2010 and 2020. Amy-Leigh Payne, attorney at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), summarising the report findings, said the Refugees Act requires SA to extend protection to people who have a well-founded fear of SOGI-based persecution. The report identifies the following discriminatory practices by Home Affairs officials: the use of stereotypes about sexual and/or gender minorities to justify denials; displays of bigotry or hostility, evidenced by the use of derogatory language in official documentation; and a high proportion of credibility concerns raised about applicants’ identities rather than their asylum claims. The report was compiled by the LRC, the Women’s Legal Centre, the African LGBTQI+ Migration research Network, and People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty.