COVID-19 interrupted plans to hear directly from resettled refugees and asylees who identify as LGBTQ+. However, it is essential that both funders and service providers understand how sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) can directly impact the experience of those being resettled. The insights and recommendations shared here are based on conversations with specialized service providers and synthesized key resources.
Lens
LGBTQ+
“For LGBT refugees and asylees to achieve self-sufficiency, they must first find safety and a supportive community."
- Rainbow Response, practical guide to resettling LGBT refugees and asylees
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) refugees and asylees’ resettlement experiences are unique as they are confronted with specific obstacles and vulnerabilities due to their specific persecution based on their sexual orientation and identity. On top of the challenges typically associated with resettlement, LGBTQ+ refugees face significant challenges in accessing services, finding ‘chosen’ family, and creating a life that feels safe and authentic.
While Biden’s executive orders create protective frameworks for LGBTQ+ people fleeing persecution - specific actions are required to bring these commitments to life and into the lives of the people who need them.
Resettled in the Community of Your Country of Origin
LGBTQ+ refugees are at risk of discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity, creating unique needs compared with other refugees and aslyees. Many refugee populations flee violence perpetrated by state actors, LGBTQ refugees are also escaping direct violence committed by their own community members, friends, and family.
Doubly marginalized, LGBTQ+ refugees and asylees navigate challenges as forcibly displaced persons; as LGBTQ+ individuals, they must also navigate the isolation they face within their own ethnic or national communities. Thus, while the resettlement system places refugees together within communities made up of similar ethnicities and nationalities in the U.S. to serve as support ssustems, this is not seen as a safe option because of the potentially dangerous heteropatriarchal and homophobic attitudes and belief systems. Resettled LGBTQ+ refugees are often forced to make the painful decision to distance themselves from the only community they know in the U.S., forced to face the compounded issues – laid out in this site – alone.
44 countries outlaw lesbianism.
Homosexuality and/or homosexual conduct is currently criminalized in more than 75 countries. 13 of those countries implement the death penalty for those who violate these barbaric laws
More than half of U.S. states lack nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Physical and Sexual Violence
At every stage of their journey, LGBTQ+ identified individuals are at risk of abuse, exploitation, and physical and sexual violence – before forcibly fleeing their country, during transit, and after arrival in the U.S. They often feel unable to disclose the violence or ask for help once in the United States due to factors such as shame, stigma, fear of being outed, and fear of losing the only people and community they know in the U.S. Being able to seek affirming health and counseling services is essential, however, LGBTQ+ friendly services are either not easily available, or individuals are not aware of their existence. Experiencing risks, threats, and harm that can extend from the home, to community, school, workplaces, and beyond, many are forced to conceal their sexual identity and orientation to survive.
In many countries, there are no legal protections for LGBTQ+ people who face severe and life-threatneing coniditons incuding discrimination, detention, torture, forced sertizaitoion, killing, and maltreatment in all areas of life.
Opportunities
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How does your funding result in bespoke programming for the different groups under the LGBTQ+ umbrella?
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How does your programming create safe spaces for resettled LGBTQ+ community members where they can consistently access services for sexual and physical violence?
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Prioritize the interventions and support resettled LGBTQ+ refugees and asylees identify as most important to them including support for secondary relocation, safe housing, safe transit, mental health, medical care, and programs identify and support safe community.