When sexuality means leaving your home country
Recently, RACS has witnessed a growth in the number of people seeking help because they fear harm based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or sex characteristics.
While it is now recognised that asylum claims based on these issues do warrant protection under Australian law, many queer individuals still face significant barriers when seeking asylum.
One woman’s story shows just how difficult it is. Thanks to RACS, she was able to seek access to protection, and finally call Australia home. This story is unique but one of many that our nonprofit legal service can respond to.
Izzy* is a bisexual woman, who could face grave danger if she returned to her home country.
When Izzy contacted RACS, she was already in Australia, hoping to migrate permanently. That’s because if she returned to her home country, her sexuality would likely lead to her persecution.
To call Australia home, Izzy faced many barriers. For her to be allowed to stay, she had to prove that she was queer – a part of herself that she had always kept secret.
Izzy suppressed her sexuality to stay safe, before coming to Australia.
Izzy was 14 when she discovered she "liked boys and girls", but was told by her best friend at the time that she would have to reject who she was due to her religion.
"I had to suppress my bisexuality and just dated guys. I did have a relationship with a girl, but it was mostly secret... My entire life I had to suppress my bisexuality until I came to Australia," she said.
Izzy fled to Australia in 2016, and on arrival saw the country as a beacon of freedom. She said she could face serious trouble for displaying basic forms of affection that Australians take for granted.
"My best friend said, 'No — you just don't do that. You are meant to be with a man'," Izzy recalls.
Born in a conservative country, Izzy could face arrest.
As a bisexual woman born in a conservative Muslim country that criminalises homosexuality, Izzy faced potential persecution and was forced to hide her sexuality.
"If the neighbours found out [that I am bisexual], they'll report it to [a government] department and they could come and arrest you and then send you to counselling — and then you get fined."
But to stay in Australia for her safety, she would have to prove her sexuality.
How do you prove you're queer?
After Izzy arrived in Australia, she applied for a protection visa under "membership of a particular social group".
To be granted a protection visa, an applicant must first be classified as a refugee needing protection, according to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
The DHA states one must have a "well founded fear of persecution and there is a real chance they will be persecuted in their home country now, if they were to return".
Despite a supportive father who allowed her to question her faith, everything else around Izzy, including her own country and its religious values, opposed her sexual orientation.
"We don't have a choice to choose our religion as we grow up. It's like if you were born into a Muslim family, that's your religion – your entire life," she said.
Izzy said her school and religious teachers taught her: "you can't question Allah".
RACS was able to help, thanks to our legal expertise in helping LGBTQI+ refugees.
RACS solicitor Gretel Emerson
Gretel Emerson is a solicitor at RACS, which provides support and legal advice for migrants.
They said proving that clients identify as LGBTQI+ is "one of the hardest parts" of the application process.
"Comparing it to a religious claim – you can provide a baptism certificate, photos of you at church, evidence of an identity card that states your religion," Emerson explained.
"But when someone's trying to explain to the department what their queer identity is, that's all personal and internal.”
"There's no membership card. There’s no ability to point to them attending queer clubs if they’re from a country where that was completely outlawed."
Gretel said the DHA must be satisfied that someone is seeking protection on the basis of their membership of a particular social group, which comes down mostly to personal testimony.
"It takes a lot of courage for a client to talk to a department officer and try and explain when they first started to realise they were queer, what that meant for them for the first couple of years of their life, and then how they were able to – or not able – to start exploring that queerness in their country of origin," Emerson said.
But in a country where being openly bisexual can lead to persecution, Gretel said providing that proof can be difficult.
"If someone has spent the first 20 years of their life in a country where they cannot explore that queerness because they could be arrested or killed, it's a big ask to then expect them to come to Australia and immediately embrace the queer community here and feel safe and comfortable to then express their sexuality."
Plus, personal testimonies can be up for interpretation.
"It comes to a point where they have to explain whether they have had any engagement in the queer community in Australia. But if they haven't, they have to try and convince the department that it's not because they're lying about their sexuality, it's because they don't feel comfortable to do that yet," Emerson said.
They must also prove to the government that they are unable to be protected by their own state and provide a written statement and attend an interview.
Being in Australia allowed Izzy to overcome trauma.
With the help of RACS and support services within Australia, Izzy was recently granted a permanent protection visa — under conditions that include engagement with protection obligations and meeting all other visa requirements including security, health, and character checks.
Her bridging visa had allowed her to stay in the country throughout this process.
Seeing queer people in Sydney holding hands publicly, Izzy said she felt a sense of trust and safety — far from what she had been used to.
“I wouldn’t be able to walk down the road holding hands with my girlfriend.”
It wasn’t until Izzy got into Australia and felt "safe" that she recognised how her trauma had accumulated, and she began therapy for PTSD.
"I started having flashbacks and memories of things that happened to me in my country," she said.
"My therapist told me because of the people and where I was made me feel safe, and this chemical in your brain that tells you: okay, this is a safe place."
In contrast, Izzy said that the very idea of seeking therapy was stigmatised in her country.
"I couldn't [get help] where I was from, because we grew up thinking seeing a therapist means you need to go to a mental hospital."
As Izzy starts her new life without facing persecution, she considers a life without boundaries: or as she puts it: "I can do whatever I want (in Australia) — I can be with whoever I want."
"I get to be myself, leave my past behind, and live my life the way I want to. Australia was a place for me to heal."
The challenges of the asylum process, here in Australia.
The lack of inclusivity and awareness of the barriers that many LGBTQI+** individuals face during the asylum process in Australia remains one of the greatest obstacles to accessing protection.
RACS toolkit for LGBTQI+ organisations and STARTTS
To address the concerns raised in our consultations with people with lived experience, RACS, in consultation with LGBTQI+ organisations and STARTTS, developed a best practices toolkit for community workers and legal representatives working with LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in Australia.
If you’d like to access to this helpful toolkit you can read it for free, here: racs.org.au/lgbtqi-toolkit
RACS acknowledges and extends our heartfelt acknowledgement to the many LGBTQI+ individuals with lived experience seeking asylum in Australia.
*Name changed to protect client’s identity
**The initials “LGBTQIA” stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual. The plus + sign seeks to “Acknowledge the non-exhaustive nature of this collection of terms, the fact that language can and does evolve to find new terms for describing the diverse ways in which people can experience gender, sexuality, relationships and human bodies”. Although applications for refugee protection on LGBTQI+ grounds typically originate from individuals who identify as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex, the spectrum of queer identities is broad.