Guidelines
SEXUAL & GENDER IDENTITY GUIDELINES INITIATIVE
The Sexual and Gender Identity Guidelines ("SAGIG")
- for the determination of asylum claims in the UK - is a major joint
initiative by ILPA (the Immigration Law Practitioners
Association) and UKLGIG.
The members of the drafting group are Alison Stanley, Barry O'Leary, Tim
Barnden, Liz Barratt, Susan Rowlands and Sarah Booker. The authors are S.Chelvan and Jane Coker.
Extensive consultation took place in May
& June at events in Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and
London.
For copies of the draft, please contact
ILPA/UKLGIG TRAINING - 12th July, 2007
Following a highly praised training
session in 2006, the Sexual and Gender Identity Guidelines formed an
important part of this year's ILPA and UKLGIG training seminar "Asylum
on the grounds of sexual and gender identity" held at UKLGIG on 12th July,
2007.
THE AIMS OF THE GUIDELINES
The Guidelines aim to raise awareness of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transsexual and transgender individuals' (LGBT) experiences of
persecution, and to enable practitioners and decision-makers to apply the
Refugee Convention in a way which embraces the totality of human
experiences, to respond to the particular experiences and needs of LGBT
asylum seekers, and to assert and affirm the rights of LGBT individuals to
effective international protection within the asylum determination process.
The Guidelines aim to reduce the prevalence of homophobia and ignorance
surrounding LGBT individuals claiming asylum. Examples of such ignorance
include, but are not limited to, a refusal to accept the sexual identity of
a lesbian appellant because she had given birth to a child and had been
married, and the seeking of medical evidence to ‘prove’ sexual identity.
In many countries LGBT individuals are a targeted group, threatened because
of their sexual and gender identity. Laws directed against LGBT individuals
can identify them as a sub-category status of citizens. Negative
administrative and social attitudes result in LGBT individuals being
subjected to varying degrees of discrimination which can amount to
persecution.
The guidelines shift the focus from conduct to identity. The use of language
to describe LGBT individuals is examined. Informing practitioners, the Home
Office and Judges how LGBT individuals live their lives within a
heterosexual dominated world, provides the information vital to combat
ignorance.
Defining what it is to be a refugee provides the legal framework. LGBT
individuals need to prove that if they are returned to their country of
origin, there is a real risk of serious harm without effective protection
from their government, or organisation, or body which controls their home
area. The serious harm can come from the police, or their neighbours. There
needs to be no other area in which LGBT individuals can live.
Enlarging the definition of ‘family reunion’ to include LGBT couples
requires specific care. In many countries, LGBT couples can not conduct
their relationships openly and therefore may not be able to prove that they
are a couple as easily as heterosexual couples.
The guidelines then examine the evidential and procedural hurdles faced by
LGBT asylum seekers. Most fear disclosure through the shame and guilt they
attach to their sexual and gender identity. Late disclosure of why LGBT
individuals fear to return, based on sexual and gender identity, is common.
The guidelines provide objectives, in relation to the conduct of
practitioners and decision makers, in helping LGBT individuals gain access
to the process, and then when in the process, to be treated fairly. The
checklist of questions provides a valuable tool in helping the LGBT asylum
seeker state the facts of their case. An additional checklist provides
further questions which need to be answered to show why the LGBT individual
can not return to their country of origin.
The guidelines do not replace other national or international rules,
regulations and recommendations but should instead be seen as a complement
to them. By applying these guidelines there will certainly be an increased
focus on the particular situation of LGBT individuals in the asylum process.
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