LGBTQ+ Asylum seekers

In one of my volunteer roles I provide counselling to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers so, as you might imagine, I was pretty appalled by some recent reporting from the BBC suggesting that there are huge numbers of ‘fake’ LGBT asylum seekers exploiting a ‘loophole’ in the system.

While the investigation did discover unethical advisors exploiting people seeking asylum, framing this as demonstrative of a wider issue in our already challenging asylum system is, frankly, racist dogwhistle bullsh*t.

It might not always feel like it, but being a member of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK is relatively safe compared to some other parts of the world. It often co-relates with colonial era homophobia, but in some countries being LGBT can mean violence, a lengthy prison sentence or the death penalty. Yes, in 2026. In modern Pakistan as an example, you can receive a 2 year sentence and even life imprisonment.

Even some ‘holiday destinations’ that cisgender couples might think nothing of visiting are in real terms out of bounds for same sex couples and not safe for us. “Ah, but surely…?” you might ask, but would it be reasonable to expect a straight married couple on holiday to pretend to be strangers? Of course not.

For many LGBT people who live in these countries, the UK offers a sanctuary where they might finally feel they can live their lives day to day without second guessing themselves, worrying that they’re going to be arrested or attacked by someone even assuming that they’re LGBT. These are ordinary people; sons and daughters, aunties and uncles, friends and work colleagues, who are living their lives in fear. Many of them have never been able to live their lives authentically, too afraid to express their sexuality at all, even behind closed doors.

The UK asylum process itself is already difficult and seems to get more and more challenging every year as right-wing voices are amplified by the media and unchallenged by our political class. The small proportion of asylum seekers who are seeking asylum because they are LGBT are also required to provide evidence. .

I’ll let that sit there for a moment: evidence. How does someone who has never felt safe expressing that part of themselves provide evidence? How many of us, put on the spot, could provide evidence of our own sexuality that could somehow be evaluated and assessed?

People can also have their asylum application rejected due to lack of evidence and risk being sent back. That’s a reality of the current system and a terrifying possibility for many.

So articles suggesting that people en masse might be cynically claiming to be LGBT to cheat the system put people in real danger.

Even one of the contributors to the piece, Ana Gonzalez, has said how shocked she is at the framing of the report and how they felt their comments were completely taken out of context and misrepresented.

The fact is there is a vital need for this pathway and ‘fake’ applications are very very rare and always caught out. We cannot have an already difficult process made more difficult and more inhuman.

Compassion is not a limited resource. Showing kindness to one group of people in need does not mean we can’t show that kindness to others. We shouldn’t allow bad actors in the media, almost always supported by unsavoury billionaires, to poison our natural inclination to help with cynicism and suspicion.

If you’d like to support LGBT asylum seekers you might consider donating to the following organisations:

• https://www.rainbowmigration.org.uk

• https://microrainbow.org/donate/

• Rainbow Sisters

• Say It Loud Club

  
  

If you would like to speak to me about working on your mental health, you can get in touch with me via the website or drop me a message directly at mckellarcbt@gmail.com