Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SOGICA (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A European human rights challenge)

Teaser

This project will generate the first ever theoretically and empirically-grounded comparative and comprehensive picture of the status and legal experiences of people across Europe claiming international protection on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity...

Summary

This project will generate the first ever theoretically and empirically-grounded comparative and comprehensive picture of the status and legal experiences of people across Europe claiming international protection on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), and determine how the European asylum systems can treat more fairly asylum claims based on the claimant’s SOGI. Every year, thousands of individuals claim asylum in Europe based on their SOGI, and more often than not their claims are treated unfairly, especially considering the disproportionately high rate of refusals on these grounds. There have been very limited attempts to address this issue, and this research will overcome this gap by carrying out a study more in-depth than any other done in this field in the past, and producing outcomes that are unparalleled in terms of their reach.

The project’s main objectives are: 1) to analyse how SOGI related claims are adjudicated in different asylum legal European frameworks (EU, CoE, Germany, Italy, UK), and 2) to produce detailed policy recommendations in regard to the national, European Union and Council of Europe asylum adjudication systems, to the effect of developing a system that addresses adequately the socio-cultural, gender identity and sexual diversity of people claiming international protection.

This project is for the first time adopting a combined comparative, intersectional, interdisciplinary (socio-legal), human rights and empirical approach to research this field. This approach ensures the unique character of the findings and their impact on improving the current law, policy and decision-making regarding SOGI asylum claims, which are increasingly under close scrutiny across Europe.

Work performed

The team began by collecting relevant statistics and carrying out documentary analysis of asylum determinations, case law, migration policy papers, and reports at the European (EU and CoE) and national (Germany, Italy and UK) levels. This work led to the production of the first draft of book chapters on each jurisdiction under analysis (five in total). It also led to the production of comprehensive tables of case law for each country, for the Court of Justice of the EU and European Court of Human Rights, and a comparative table. In addition, the team drafted the chapter outlines of the relevant theoretical frameworks and the methodology.

The team also designed the project website, including the database of resources within it. The SOGICA website – http://www.sogica.org/ – was launched in April 2017, including its database (http://www.sogica.org/en/sogica-database/), which includes legal cases, research and other SOGICA related resources. The website is also available in German and Italian.

The team has held two annual advisory board meetings: the first one in July 2017 in Brighton, UK, and the second one in May 2018 in Forlì, Italy. Advisory Board members are refugees, legal practitioners, NGO staff, and academics. Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, ex-UN Independent Expert on the Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2016-17), is a recent and welcome addition to the Board. There is more information about Advisory Board members on our website: http://www.sogica.org/en/the-project/the-advisory-board/.

In terms of fieldwork, exploratory fieldwork was carried out in August-October 2017. Since September 2017, the team has been carrying out fieldwork in the countries under analysis, including: observation of judicial hearings (14); interviews with policy-makers, members of the judiciary, legal representatives, NGO activists, asylum-seekers and refugees (122 interviews in total); and focus-groups (15). In addition, the team also carried out fieldwork at European level, including eight interviews with Council of Europe and European Union policy makers and experts and with staff in European-wide NGOs.

During the reporting period, the SOGICA team members published almost ten publications directly as a product of the project (listed under the publications tab), as well as other publications in connected themes (http://www.sogica.org/en/publications/). Of these, we can highlight Ferreira et al.’s piece ‘The reform of the Common European Asylum System: Fifteen recommendations from a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Perspective’ (http://www.sogica.org/en/database/ferreira-danisi-dustin-and-held-the-reform-of-the-common-european-asylum-system-2018/) and Dustin’s piece ‘Many Rivers to Cross: The Recognition of LGBTQI Asylum in the UK’ (https://academic.oup.com/ijrl/article/30/1/104/5045619). Relevant forthcoming works include Dustin et al.’s edited collection Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit (Palgrave 2019) and Danisi’s edited special issue of the journal GenIUS - Rivista di studi giuridici sull\'orientamento sessuale e l\'identità di genere on the topic of SOGI asylum.

The team is actively engaged in public speaking, having delivered more than 30 talks on topics related to SOGICA (http://www.sogica.org/en/events/). We have not only presented at a range of academic conferences, but also at NGO and Third Sector events to enhance the impact of our research and support the work of activists and policy makers. The latest presentations have included discussion by Ferreira and Held of some preliminary comparative findings on the basis of the fieldwork already carried out at the 10th European Feminist Research Conference, Goettingen, Germany (September 2018). The SOGICA team – mainly represented by Danisi – and the Department of Political and Social Science of the University of Bologna have also organised the Conference ‘Vulnerability and Asylum: Sex

Final results

Although all key outputs of the project based on the empirical work are planned to be published towards the end of the project, the team has already produced significant publications that have advanced the understanding and critical thinking in the field of SOGI asylum law, policy and practice.

Dustin has published the journal article ‘Many rivers to cross: the recognition of LGBTQI asylum in the UK’ in the International Journal of Refugee Law (2018, Vol 30, No 1, 104–127), challenging conventional wisdom in relation to UK law and practice on SOGI asylum.

Dustin and Ferreira have offered the first socio-legal analysis of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada’s ‘Guideline 9: Proceedings before the IRB Involving Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression’ (SOGIE Guideline) and linked that Guideline to European debates in this field (see ‘Canada’s Guideline 9: improving SOGIE claims assessment?’, 2017 Forced Migration Review 56 (October), 80-83).

Crucially, the team has produced a 20+ page policy brief analysing the current reform of the EU Common European Asylum System and offering fifteen recommendations to improve such reform from a SOGI perspective (see Ferreira N., Danisi C., Dustin M., Held N., ‘The reform of the Common European Asylum System: Fifteen recommendations from a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Perspective‘, SOGICA/University of Sussex, May 2018).

Finally, Danisi et al. have produced a book chapter analysing the potential impact of Brexit on sexual and gender minorities, which also includes a discussion of SOGI asylum (‘Queering Brexit: What’s in Brexit for Sexual and Gender Minorities?‘, in Dustin, M., Ferreira, N. and Millns, S. (eds.), Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit. Gender and Politics Series. Palgrave, 2019, forthcoming).

All these pieces have advanced understanding and critical thinking in the field of SOGI asylum by introducing new insights, comparisons, perspectives or analyses. The key outputs of the project, analysing the new empirical data collected, will offer even more valuable findings and are due to be published towards the end of the project. These key outputs are as follows:
- A book, to be published on an open-access basis by a top academic publisher such as Cambridge University Press or Oxford University Press, will describe SOGICA’s methodology, compile country case-studies, contain a comparative study, and finally a chapter with policy recommendations to be implemented at national level.
- Five peer-reviewed articles, to be published on an open-access basis in top international journals such as the International Journal of Refugee Law, will elaborate on the implications of SOGICA’s findings, including policy recommendations, for: i) the EU’s asylum policy; ii) the CoE’s policies; iii) domestic asylum laws in relation to claims on grounds protected by asylum and human rights law other than sexual orientation or gender identity; iv) SOGI studies more generally; and, v) theoretical and empirical foundations of socio-legal approaches to research.
- Subsidiary publications, to be released both in paper and electronically, including a specialised publication with the summary of the main conclusions and recommendations, and a shorter, jargon-free summary report, both of which will be translated into German and Italian; these will be of particular value to practitioners, to the SOGI community and in training contexts.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.sogica.org.