Paras Gupta, Week 14

The article aims “No Safe Refuge” at reflecting upon the culture of asylum for LBGT asylum seeker when Stonewall and UKLGIG conducted in 22 depth interviews with the asylum seekers. The key finding of the interviews were LGBT asylum seekers face discrimination and harassment in detention centers and those who come openly about their sexuality were the most oppressed ones. There was oppression by the staff member as well and open threats were being given by the staff and threats for violence were being given to the asylum seekers. Whenever crimes were reported to officer for the violence there was the response on behalf of the officer that there is nothing that can be done for the misery to be solved. Mostly interviewees tried to commit suicide because detention has serious ill-effects on
the mental health of LGBT claimants and the challenging and unsafe detention environment causes constant stress and severe anxiety. Trans people are deprived of health care by the staff appropriated to them which leads to not emotional distress but harms the physical and mental well-being of the asylum seeker. 

People respond that the origin country as the ones who kills them as in those countries where same-sex relationships are criminalized or where discrimination against LGBT people
is widespread, lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are often excluded by society and may face prosecution, discrimination or harassment. Even when individuals are not prosecuted, the state fails to protect them when exposed to violence by their own communities, and may even support such treatment. Harassment and violence are a common experience for many lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. They are many asylum seekers are detained in Britain and sometimes government lose the tracks of detainees in the detention camps. 

There should be a ban on the detention camps and an alternative to detention has to be found. Legal service should be avail to every detainee and there should be no solitary conferment of a detainee. The emphasis should be made on how to administrate the support from the staff of these camps to ensure that the detainees are not deprived of their basic needs. It is the high time that the government should make laws and take further steps in favor of the LGBT community.