Imagine being forced to ‘prove’ your sexual orientation or gender identity to strangers who might hold preconceived notions about who you are. For LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum, this is often the case. Despite calls for change, credibility assessments of LGBTQI+ people is often based on stereotypical assumptions and expectations of universal characteristics or life experiences among all LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum, such as ‘emotional journeys’, shame, and other negative feelings about themselves.
The Striking Sirens Coalition is a group of practitioners and academics in the field of SOGIESC (Sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics). We, at Rainbow Migration, are working with the coalition to organise a conference to find solutions to the issues which are commonly experienced within the credibility assessment of sexual orientation and gender identity asylum claims and to renew momentum to update UNHCR guidance about it.
The coalition are now inviting proposals for papers and workshops on, but not limited to:
- Solutions to improve the credibility assessment of SOGIESC asylum claims without defaulting to models or stereotypes.
- The impact of current credibility assessments on LGBTQI+ people who have sought asylum.
You can send your proposal of max. 250 words for a paper or workshop to strikingsirens@coc.nl before 10 May 2024.
