Publications
Queer and Trans African Mobilities: Migration, Asylum and Diaspora
Recent years have seen increased scholarly and media interest in the cross-border movements of LGBT persons, particularly those seeking protection in the Global North . While this has helped focus attention on the plight of individuals fleeing homophobic or transphobic persecution, it has also reinvigorated racist tropes about the Global South.
In the case of Africa, the expansion of anti-LGBT laws and the prevalence of hetero-patriarchal discourses are regularly cited as evidence of an inescapable savagery. The figure of the LGBT refugee – often portrayed as helplessly awaiting rescue – reinforces colonial notions about the continent and its peoples.
Queer and Trans African Mobilities draws on diverse case studies from the length and breadth of Africa, offering the first in-depth investigation of LGBT migration on and from the continent. The collection provides new insights into the drivers and impacts of displacement linked to sexual orientation or gender identity and challenges notions about why LGBT Africans move, where they are going and what they experience along the way.
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New Report on the denial of administrative justice for LGBTI+ asylum seekers in South Africa
Based on research conducted by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC)and People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) this report validates what LGBTI+ asylum seekers coming to South Africa have been saying for years – it suggests that these individuals are being denied administrative justice, be it due to direct discrimination or procedural errors.
The report analyses 67 refugee status denials written on behalf of 65 applicants who applied for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI). Our goal in reviewing the sample was to identify trends and potential shortcomings in the adjudication of SOGI- based refugee applications. The report is intended to serve as a resource for researchers, lawyers, service providers and civil society organisations, as well as for LGBTI+ persons seeking protection in South Africa