Sogica - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum

Congratulations to Arthur Ian Legend Davis for this PhD thesis on ‘Temporalities in Tension: Rethinking the S*xual Health of Migrant Men Who Have S*x with Men (MSM) through the Lens of “Outness”‘, UCL Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry, 2026 - which also considers q***r migration. Well done, Arthur!

Abstract

This work introduces a temporal dimension to understandings of the spatial relocations of international and intra-national migrant men who have s*x with men (MSM), thereby revealing hidden dynamics of s*xual risk and wellbeing. While health researchers often find migrant MSM to have poor s*xual health outcomes, this purported group is far from homogeneous. MSM migrate for various reasons, from various contexts, and at various points in the life course, the unique intersections of all these factors influencing s*xual health perceptions and behaviours. Thus, an understanding of the temporal journeys of migrant MSM – from one “timeline” to another – may usefully guide attempts to better map dynamics of s*xual risk and wellbeing. Through an analysis of semi-structured interviews with migrant MSM recruited from three s*xual health & HIV services in London, using a modified constructivist grounded theory approach, I explore how the alignment or misalignment of temporal, coming-out journeys with spatial migrations shapes s*xual trajectories. Firstly, I examine the ways in which participants navigated s*xual health in their places of origin, where heteronormative institutions of socialisation often placed them on a reproductive timeline in which safer-s*x practices were rarely discussed. Next, I explore the ways in which “Gay London” offered access to new spaces and temporalities that enabled many participants’ gay identities to flourish, while noting that the accessibility of these spaces and temporalities was often seen to depend on socioeconomic status, for migrants and natives alike. Finally, I explore how a “critical mass of gay ways of knowing and be(com)ing” was needed to produce meaningful shifts in s*xual health perceptions and behaviours, although “temporal hangovers” continued to shape patterns of engagement with s*xual healthcare. I conclude that failing to remain attuned to the temporal shifts experienced by migrant (and, indeed, non-migrant) MSM risks a misidentification of their healthcare needs.

https://www.sogica.org/database/davis-temporalities-in-tension-2026/

We're happy to share the call for participants below. [Arabic and Farsi]

Arabic
🏳️‍🌈 هل مررت بتجربة نزوح أو لجوء قسري وتعرّف نفسك كشخص من مجتمع LGBTQI+؟

ندعو الأشخاص الكوير، واللاجئين، وطالبي اللجوء، والأشخاص غير الحاصلين على أوراق إقامة الذين يعيشون في اليونان للمشاركة في مقابلة بحثية سرّية في أثينا.

نود أن نفهم بشكل أفضل تجاربكم المتعلقة بالصحة، والرفاه، والوصول إلى خدمات الرعاية الصحية، وما هي التغييرات التي يمكن أن تجعل أنظمة الرعاية الصحية أكثر شمولاً ودعماً للأشخاص الكوير الذين مرّوا بتجارب النزوح.

✨ المشاركة في البحث:

✔ سرّية ومجهولة الهوية
✔ طوعية بالكامل
✔ مساحة آمنة لمشاركة تجاربكم
✔ تستغرق من 45 إلى 90 دقيقة
✔ سيتم تقديم 15 يورو لتغطية تكاليف المواصلات وتقديراً لوقتكم

📍 تُجرى المقابلات في أثينا، في مكان آمن ومريح يتم اختياره بما يناسبكم.

إذا كنتم مهتمين أو ترغبون في معرفة المزيد، يمكنكم التواصل معنا:

📱 واتساب / فايبر / سيغنال: +30 697 363 8853
📧 [email protected]

صوتكم مهم 💜

لا تترددوا في مشاركة هذا المنشور مع أي شخص قد يكون مهتماً.

Farsi
🏳️‍🌈 آیا تجربه آوارگی اجباری داشته‌اید و خود را LGBTQI+ می‌دانید؟

ما از افراد کوئیر، پناهندگان، پناهجویان یا افراد بدون مدارک اقامتی که در یونان زندگی می‌کنند دعوت می‌کنیم در یک مصاحبه پژوهشی محرمانه در آتن شرکت کنند.

ما می‌خواهیم تجربه‌های شما درباره سلامت، رفاه و دسترسی به خدمات درمانی را بهتر درک کنیم و بدانیم چه تغییراتی می‌تواند سیستم‌های سلامت را برای افراد کوئیر در شرایط آوارگی فراگیرتر و حمایت‌کننده‌تر کند.

✨ شرکت در این پژوهش:

✔ محرمانه و ناشناس است
✔ کاملاً داوطلبانه است
✔ فضایی امن برای به اشتراک گذاشتن تجربه‌های شما فراهم می‌کند
✔ بین ۴۵ تا ۹۰ دقیقه زمان می‌برد
✔ مبلغ ۱۵ یورو برای هزینه رفت‌وآمد و قدردانی از وقت شما ارائه می‌شود

📍 مصاحبه‌ها در آتن و در مکانی امن و راحت که با شما هماهنگ می‌شود برگزار خواهد شد.

اگر علاقه‌مند هستید یا سؤال دارید، با ما تماس بگیرید:

📱 واتساپ / وایبر / سیگنال: +30 697 363 8853
📧 [email protected]

صدای شما مهم است 💜

لطفاً این پیام را با افرادی که ممکن است علاقه‌مند باشند به اشتراک بگذارید.

We're happy to share the call for participants below. [French and Spanish below]

🏳️‍🌈 Have you experienced forced displacement and identify as LGBTQI+?
We are inviting q***r refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented people living in Greece to take part in a confidential research interview in Athens.
We want to better understand people’s experiences of health, wellbeing, and access to healthcare — and what needs to change to make systems more inclusive and supportive for q***r people on the move.
✨ Participation is:
✔ Confidential & anonymous
✔ Voluntary
✔ A safe space to share your experiences
✔ 45–90 minutes
✔ €15 provided to cover transport costs and thank you for your time
📍 Interviews take place in Athens, in a place where you feel safe and comfortable.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact:
📱 WhatsApp / Viber / Signal: +30 697 363 8853
📧 [email protected]
Your story matters 💜
Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested.

🏳️‍🌈 Avez-vous vécu un déplacement forcé et vous identifiez-vous comme LGBTQI+ ?
Nous invitons les personnes q***r réfugiées, demandeuses d’asile ou sans papiers vivant en Grèce à participer à un entretien de recherche confidentiel à Athènes.
Nous souhaitons mieux comprendre les expériences liées à la santé, au bien-être et à l’accès aux soins — ainsi que les changements nécessaires pour rendre les systèmes de santé plus inclusifs et adaptés aux personnes q***r en situation d’exil.
✨ La participation est :
✔ Confidentielle et anonyme
✔ Volontaire
✔ Un espace sûr pour partager votre expérience
✔ D’une durée de 45 à 90 minutes
✔ 15 € sont offerts pour couvrir les frais de transport et vous remercier pour votre temps
📍 Les entretiens ont lieu à Athènes, dans un lieu où vous vous sentez en sécurité et à l’aise.
Si cela vous intéresse ou si vous souhaitez plus d’informations, contactez-nous :
📱 WhatsApp / Viber / Signal : +30 697 363 8853
📧 [email protected]
Votre voix compte 💜
N’hésitez pas à partager cette publication avec toute personne susceptible d’être intéressée.

🏳️‍🌈 ¿Has vivido un desplazamiento forzado y te identificas como una persona LGBTQI+?
Invitamos a personas q***r refugiadas, solicitantes de asilo o en situación irregular que viven en Grecia a participar en una entrevista de investigación confidencial en Atenas.
Queremos comprender mejor las experiencias relacionadas con la salud, el bienestar y el acceso a la atención sanitaria, así como los cambios necesarios para que los sistemas de salud sean más inclusivos y accesibles para las personas q***r en situación de desplazamiento.
✨ La participación es:
✔ Confidencial y anónima
✔ Voluntaria
✔ Un espacio seguro para compartir tu experiencia
✔ De 45 a 90 minutos
✔ Se ofrecen 15 € para cubrir gastos de transporte y agradecer tu tiempo
📍 Las entrevistas tendrán lugar en Atenas, en un espacio donde te sientas seguro/a y cómodo/a.
Si te interesa o quieres más información, contáctanos:
📱 WhatsApp / Viber / Signal: +30 697 363 8853
📧 [email protected]
Tu voz importa 💜
No dudes en compartir esta publicación con cualquier persona que pueda estar interesada.

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.

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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

UNHCR: Reaffirming protection for LGBTIQ+ refugees | UNHCR 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...