For LGBTQ+ individuals fleeing violence and discrimination in their home countries, the UK does not always provide the safe haven they hope for. A new report reveals that LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in the UK face dangerous living conditions, homophobic abuse from Home Office contractors, and sexual harassment. The SEREDA report, released today by the University of Birmingham and Rainbow Migration, gathered data from 15 asylum seekers and 14 service providers across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
The report highlights that the UK, once the most LGBTQ-friendly place in Europe, now struggles to provide safety for queer asylum seekers. “Queer people in the asylum system are not safe due to institutional homophobia within the Home Office,” said Pip McKnight, a fellow at the University of Birmingham. During Pride month, many LGBTQ+ individuals are ironically unsafe in the UK due to government-imposed systems.
LGBTQ+ asylum seekers reported homophobia and transphobia from interpreters and in translated materials during their immigration interviews or court proceedings. Interpreters often refused to translate words like ‘gay’ and ‘bisexual,’ and sometimes perpetuated abuse. This issue is compounded by the fact that only the asylum seeker and translator understand what is being said, leaving the abuse unchecked. For example, a welcome guide translated into Arabic by Migrant Help contained an offensive term for lesbian, showing the extent of the problem.
The report also outlines the risks faced by LGBTQ+ migrants in Home Office accommodations. These housing arrangements, usually with multiple occupants, often replicate the hostile environments they fled. Lack of locks on doors and reports of sexual harassment and threats contribute to a dangerous living situation. One gay asylum seeker slept with a knife under his pillow for protection, and a trans woman was sexually harassed and followed by men in her accommodation. Many are too scared to report abuse for fear of retaliation or due to past negative experiences with the police.
Victor Iringere, who sought asylum in 2017 to escape homophobic abuse in Nigeria, shared his experience of harassment in UK asylum housing. Despite reporting the abuse, no action was taken to protect him. Iringere now helps run a support group for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in Coventry and hears frequent stories of abuse from other asylum seekers. He emphasized the need for better safeguarding measures and specific LGBTQ+ accommodation.
The report stresses the double burden on queer asylum seekers to prove their identity while hiding it to avoid abuse. The Home Office’s high burden of proof for asylum claims, as required by the recent Nationality and Borders Act, forces them to conform to Eurocentric stereotypes while remaining invisible to avoid harassment. This dehumanizing system has a severe impact on their mental health, often leaving them traumatized and unable to rebuild their lives.
The SEREDA report recommends 19 measures to better protect queer asylum seekers in the UK, including improved housing safety and a lower standard of proof for asylum claims. It calls for a specially trained team to assess LGBTQ+ claims and for accessible routes for queer people to enter the UK safely. Despite the political climate around migration, there is hope that future governments will listen to these experiences and implement humane policies for LGBTQ+ and other asylum seekers.