The experience of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in the UK at the time of Covid-19

Earlier this year Laurie Hartley, Asylum Seeker Support Worker at Rainbow Migration (previously known as UKLGIG), spoke with Dawn River, an academic from the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS), about the experiences of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in the UK.  This ‘Conversations with IRiS’ recording has been published during Pride month to highlight the specific challenges facing LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.

Pride is celebrated in the month of June in memory of the Stonewall uprising and is an opportunity to celebrate LGBTQI+ identities and the progress we have made towards equality. The stories of LGBTQI+ people fleeing persecution and their experience of the asylum system reminds us, however, there is much work still to be done.

Towards the end of this half hour conversation, Laurie Hartley offers recommendations to policy makers and service providers about the work required based on written evidence submitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee Covid-19 Inquiry. A link to this submission can be found in the Research and Publications Section on the Rainbow Migration website.  Rainbow Migration provides practical, emotional, legal and political support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex people going through the asylum and immigration system.

This is the 24^th Conversation with IRiS in the series.  In the conversations, IRiS academics dialogue with fellow researchers, teachers, writers, migrants, refugees, activists, community organisers, artists and policy makers on issues related to migration and the new world emerging from the current pandemic. The speakers share and discuss interesting ideas, insights and experiences on migration, diversity from different standpoints and perspectives.

Watch the conversation: The experience of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in the UK at the time of Covid-19

View the ‘Conversations with IRiS’ series