Asylum: LGBT People

(asked on 6th June 2018) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of LGBT people seeking asylum from persecution overseas were successful in their application; and whether he has any plans to review the guidelines of such applications.


Answered by
Caroline Nokes Portrait
Caroline Nokes
This question was answered on 11th June 2018

In November, the Home Office published experimental statistics on asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation.

These statistics relate to the number of asylum claims where sexual orientation was raised as a basis, or part of the basis, of the claim, and refer to claims made between 1 July 2015 and 31 March 2017. The data do not indicate whether the individual seeking asylum actually had a particular sexual orientation, whether this was the sole basis for the claim, or whether this had any bearing on the outcome of the claim.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/asylum-claims-on-the-basis-of-sexual-orientation

We remain committed to improving the asylum process for those claiming asylum on the basis of their sexual or gender identity and decision-makers are provided with dedicated guidance on the management of such claims.

We are developing a new instruction on Gender Identity and Expression that will replace both the current instructions on Gender Identity and on handling asylum claims where a Gender Recognition Certificate is presented. We expect to be able to publish this instruction later this summer.

We are also committed to reviewing the asylum instruction on claims based on sexual orientation on a regular basis. We will progress this review in the near future.

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