Sogica - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum

02/06/2026

We've been contacted by Harry George Daniels, a psychotherapist in training at AGIP, London, and volunteer with experience in supporting people at risk of su***de, refugees and homeless people.

Harry is specialising in affirming psychoanalytic psychotherapy for LGBTQIA+ patients, and is currently accepting new patients, both in person in North London and online. Harry is particularly looking for a training patient who is interested in therapy for a minimum of either six months or two years.

If you're interested, please use contacts in image attached.

29/05/2026

What wonderful work from Yvonne Su, Tyler Valiquette, David J. Kinitz, Clara de Oliveira Cunha, ‘”Working the Pages”: Entrepreneurship Strategies of Venezuelan Trans Women Refugees Who Enter S*x Work in Brazil During COVID-19’, Gender, Work & Organization, 2026 - congratulations for important piece!

Abstract

The Venezuelan refugee crisis has displaced nearly 8 million people, with transgender and q***r refugees among the most marginalized groups. This paper explores the intersecting precarity and entrepreneurship of Venezuelan trans women refugees who became s*x workers in Brazil during COVID-19. These women confronted homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and exclusion from both formal employment and community support. Drawing on interviews with 18 trans women s*x workers, we demonstrate how limited opportunities and structural barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled many to enter s*x work and reveal the innovative strategies, both digital and in person, they developed to navigate risk, survive, and build solidarity. By situating s*x work as a form of constrained entrepreneurship shaped by overlapping systems of power and discrimination, our findings offer new insights into the lived realities and adaptive responses of an often-overlooked population in times of crisis.

https://www.sogica.org/database/su-and-others-working-the-pages-2026/

29/05/2026

Another interesting addition to the SOGICA's database, this time from Kamille Munch Andreasen, ‘Restrictive Immigration: The Reduction of Support Provisions for Vulnerable Asylum Seekers’, Mobile Working Paper Series No. 93, University of Copenhagen, 2026 - congratulations, Kamille!

Abstract

This paper, which extends from a student master’s project, seeks to understand the impact of Danish immigration policy on vulnerable asylum seekers. It departs from the closing of Centre Jelling to investigate the consequences of reducing costs by closing accommodation with specialised inclusivity provisions for q***r asylum seekers. Therefore, I examine the Danish hardline approach to immigration and asylum to understand the conditions created for asylum seekers. The paper builds on contemporary literature of q***r migration and Nordic asylum models, with a particular focus on Denmark. From a poststructuralist perspective, I apply concepts of biopower and structural violence to understand the positioning of q***r asylum seekers in an increasingly restrictive framework. The paper is supplemented with three expert interviews with persons working in asylum in Denmark. The paper finds that the Danish state is continuing its turn towards deterrence and restriction in asylum and immigration policy. This is demonstrated by the recent decision to close Centre Jelling, an asylum centre with special provisions for vulnerable groups. Q***r asylum seekers are known to be more vulnerable, as acknowledged by the Ministry of Immigration and various civil society actors. Yet through continued cuts to the Danish asylum system, they are put in increasingly precarious positions. This paper finds that worry for the lives of q***r asylum seekers was a major theme within civil society. The paper argues that the Danish model’s emphasis on restriction creates deliberately intolerable conditions for asylum seekers, which can potentially systemise harm at a structural level.

https://www.sogica.org/database/andreasen-restrictive-immigration-2026/

29/05/2026

Check out this interesting new article by Nisrine Chaer, ‘Q***r refugees in times of Dutch homonationalism, the dangerous straight male refugee and the limits of safety’. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1–22, 2026 - congratulations, Nisrine!

Abstract

The self-image of a tolerant, progressive, and homo-friendly Dutch state is often opposed to images of Arab/Muslim cultures as “backward” and homophobic. In this context, LGBT refugees from the MENA regions often feel forced to pledge for a limited notion of safety and choose between two supposedly incompatible “homes,” directly opposed culturally, socially, and historically. This article discusses the weaponization of the concept of safety by LGBT organizations to advocate for specific policies promoting justice concerning LGBT refugees, and their investment in the vilification of straight males, framed as the primary threat to the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in asylum centers. Simultaneously, it explores how LGBT refugees deploy the notion of safety as they navigate the escalating homonationalist and Islamophobic regimes prevalent in the Netherlands. Contrary to this culturalist framework, I demonstrate that networks of affinity emerge between LGBT refugees and heteros*xual refugees, forged through shared experiences of violence and poverty within the carceral space of asylum centers and through common political values, such as solidarity with Palestine. This complexity challenges the conventional notion of “q***r safety,” which tends to be fixated on Eurocentric binaries of q***r/heteros*xual, cis/trans, and progressive West/barbaric East based on rigid s*xual identity lines.

Keywords: LGBTQ, Middle East, transgender, refugees, The Netherlands, Europe, migration, homonationalism

https://www.sogica.org/database/chaer-q***r-refugees-in-times-of-dutch-homonationalism-the-dangerous-straight-male-refugee-and-the-limits-of-safety-2026/

29/05/2026

Congratulations to MariaJose De la Hoz for her new article ‘Frozen Identity: How Rigid Conceptions of S*xuality Endanger Le***an Asylum Claims’, 21 Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy 387 (2026)

Abstract

Bias, stereotypes, and antiquated conceptions of s*xual orientation erect systemic barriers for le***an women seeking asylum in the United States. Decision-makers with a limited understanding of LGBTQI+ identities impose expectations that reinforce stereotypes while discrediting applicants’ lived experiences. This results in adverse credibility determinations that distort evidentiary burdens and deny relief to applicants with legitimate claims. This Note examines how fixed conceptions of identity endanger the asylum process for le***an women fleeing persecution based on their s*xual orientation. Proposed solutions include statutory reforms, updated training for asylum officers, and a shift toward evaluating claims through the applicant’s lived experiences rather than preconceived notions. While judicial bias in asylum adjudication has been widely documented, this Note centers on the underexamined experiences of le***an women within the asylum system.

https://www.sogica.org/database/de-la-hoz-frozen-identity-2026/

29/05/2026

Great addition to SOGICA's database: Nisrine Chaer, ‘”Already emancipated”? Q***r refugee women in the Netherlands, dirty labor and the paradox of respectability’, in Feminist and Q***r Imaginaries of Hope in a Turbulent Era, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2026 - Congratulations, Nisrine!

Abstract

Based on a case study on q***r women refugees from Arab-majority countries in the Netherlands, this chapter examines the role of Dutch homonationalist and femonationalist policies in regulating the lives of le***an refugee subjects. It asks how an amalgamation of femonationalist and homonationalist discourses impacts le***an refugee experiences, as well as their relations to forms of work that demand specific performances of respectability? How might we better understand the workings of femo/homonationalism when adequately accounting for le***an refugees—subjects who are framed as “already emancipated Muslim women” by the Dutch state? How does an ethnographic engagement with respectability—considering that this notion is lived and negotiated alongside its nationalist and political-economic registers—deepen our understanding of how gender, s*xuality and citizenship/race are classed by design? I argue that respectability manifests in relation to q***r womanhood, labor policies and civilizational discourses in specific ways, most notably in the institutional influence and guidance that pushes them into dirty feminized and unpaid labor, and further remarkable in a context where femonationalist formations give le***an refugees their status as both “already emancipated” and respectable in the eyes of the Dutch state. I further define the contours of respectability by delving into an analysis of civility and traditional womanhood within the LGBTI asylum system and civic integration policies that shape the lives of q***r migrants. The nuances themselves contribute to my thinking with/through femonationalism as they crystalize how le***an refugees are being interpellated as wives, mothers and traditional women, and simultaneously being framed as more civilized/emancipated.

Keywords: Le***an; Refugees; Labor; Respectability; Europe

https://www.sogica.org/database/chaer-already-emancipated-2026/

29/05/2026

https://www.unhcr.org/news/speeches-and-statements/unhcr-reaffirming-protection-lgbtiq-refugees

GENEVA – On this International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, stands in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ people forced to flee persecution, violence and discrimination.Everyone fleeing threats to their life or freedom has the right to seek asylum and be prot...

27/05/2026

Challenging the discourse of ‘fake asylum industry’

https://www.caprs.auckland.ac.nz/challenging-the-discourse-of-fake-asylum-industry/

27/05/2026

Congratulations to Michele Redding-La Rosa for successfully defending the PhD thesis ‘Lived Experience of Refugees With Diverse S*xual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and/or S*x Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Italy’, at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Abstract

The plight of diverse s*xual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or s*x characteristics (SOGIESC) refugees is a global concern involving vulnerable populations crossing cultural contexts, making it particularly important to the growing field of international psychology. The existing literature indicates this vulnerable group experiences multiple forms of marginalization and victimization before, during, and after migration (Danisi et al., 2021; Yarwood et al., 2022). The asylum process can increase vulnerability (Rosati et al., 2021), and adjustment to a new culture is often complicated by the intersection of multiple minority identities (Masullo & Ferrara, 2021). The following research study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith et al., 2022) grounded in minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003), intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), and acculturation theory (Berry, 1997) to illuminate the lived experience of diverse SOGIESC refugees in Italy. Data were collected from seven participants via in-person interviews in Verona, Italy, with the aid of a local NGO, Pink Refugees. The results indicated that obtaining legal documents in Italy is extremely challenging, that intersectional identities are cautiously navigated, and that acculturation is a complex and lengthy process. Despite these obstacles, most participants were overwhelmed with gratitude to Italy for providing a level of safety previously unknown to them. The findings revealed insights into the contextual experience of diverse SOGIESC refugees, will contribute to the research base of knowledge for this group, and provide context for stakeholders in various fields aiming to improve the mental health and well-being of this vulnerable population in Italy, the European Union, and beyond.

Keywords: refugee, s*xual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or s*x characteristics (SOGIESC), international psychology, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

https://www.sogica.org/database/redding-la-rosa-lived-experience-of-refugees-with-diverse-s*xual-orientation-gender-identity-gender-expression-and-or-s*x-characteristics-sogiesc-in-italy-2026/

11/05/2026

Fresh new addition to the SOGICA database, this time in German: Edina Schlieter, ‘S*xuelle Gesundheit von q***ren Menschen mit Fluchterfahrung in Deutschland’, University of Applied Sciences and Medical University, 2025 - Congratulations to the author!

Zusammenfassung

Die vorliegende Masterarbeit widmet sich der s*xuellen Gesundheit q***rer Menschen mit Fluchterfahrung in Deutschland. Aus einer intersektionalen und macht kritischen Perspektive wird untersucht, wie diese Personengruppe ihr s*xuelles Wohlbefinden erlebt, welche Herausforderungen sie dabei bewältigen muss und welche Ressourcen ihnen zur Verfügung stehen. Das Forschungsinteresse gründet auf der Annahme, dass q***re geflüchtete Personen aufgrund ihrer Mehrfachzugehörigkei ten spezifischen psychosozialen Belastungen und strukturellen Barrieren ausge
setzt sind. Diese Mehrfachzugehörigkeiten ergeben sich aus der gleichzeitigen Verortung in sozialen Positionen, die durch s*xuelle und geschlechtliche Identität, Erfahrungen von Flucht, ethnische Zuschreibungen und den rechtlichen Aufenthaltsstatus geprägt sind. Die Arbeit basiert auf einem qualitativ-explorativen Forschungsdesign und kombiniert Interviews mit q***ren geflüchteten Personen und Fachkräften aus q***rsensiblen Beratungsstellen. Die Datenauswertung erfolgt mittels inhaltlich strukturierenden Inhaltsanalyse nach Kuckartz. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die s*xuelle Gesundheit q***rer Menschen mit Fluchterfahrung von emotionalem und sozialem Wohlbefinden, rechtlichem Schutz, Zugehörigkeit und Akzeptanz geprägt ist. Gleichzeitig bestehen zahlreiche Barrieren, darunter Unsicherheiten im Asylverfahren, mangelnde q***rsensible Gesundheitsversorgung sowie sprachliche, kulturelle und institutionelle Hürden. Als zentrale Ressourcen benennen die Befragten sichere Wohnverhältnisse, unterstützende soziale Netzwerke und individuelle Bewältigungsstrategien. Die Arbeit schließt mit praxisorientierten Handlungsempfehlungen, um die s*xuelle Gesundheit q***rer Menschen mit Fluchterfahrung
nachhaltig zu stärken.

Schlüsselwörter: S*xuelle Gesundheit, Q***re Identität, Fluchterfahrung, Intersektionalität, Minderheitenstress, Diskriminierung, Ressourcen

https://www.sogica.org/database/schlieter-s*xuelle-gesundheit-von-q***ren-menschen-mit-fluchterfahrung-in-deutschland-2025/