Safety of accommodations and communities for LGBT+ asylum seekers in Germany

Author: Franziska Gartner (she/her)

Type: Research thesis (ongoing)

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to identify characteristics that contributed to feelings of greater safety for LGBT+ asylum seekers in Germany, in various community and accommodation settings, and conversely, characteristics of these accommodations and communities that instead reinforced feelings of danger or distress. To do so, interviews will be conducted with (former) LGBT+ asylum seekers and people working for organizations that connect with and support LGBT+ asylum seekers. This process with permit the identification of lacunae in existing LGBT+ asylum seeker spaces and their support system in Germany, as well as possible policy avenues that could be explored in order to establish safer accommodations and communities for LGBT+ asylum seekers.

If you are a former LGBT+ asylum seeker residing in Germany, or work for an LGBT+ refugee organization in the same country, and wish to share your experiences, please contact Franziska at franziska.gartner@student.maastrichtuniversity.nl

Beyond gender binarism?:

A scoping review of gender-affirmative care in the Netherlands (1950s-2020s)

Author: Aafke Uilhoorn

Type: Thesis / Scoping review

Abstract

Not all transgender individuals have a gender identity that falls in male/female normative categories. There are transgender individuals who identify as non-binary or genderqueer. Research has focused on the binary transgender population, largely ignoring the vastly increasing non-binary transgender individuals. The limited amount of research conducted shows that non-binary transgender individuals face higher levels of refusal of care, mistreatment and misunderstanding of healthcare workers. Furthermore, healthcare standards adopted in clinical practice for the transgender population are based on this little available information. Therefore, this study is a first endeavour to map gender-affirmative healthcare in the Netherlands for binary and non-binary transgender individuals and explore the current needs of the transgender population. The questions this study aims to answer are: how is gender-affirmative care conceptualized and approached in the Netherlands and what is the current situation for transgender people within gender-affirmative care in the Netherlands?

The current research was performed in the form of a scoping study, guided by the methodological framework by Arksey and O’Malley. The academic sources were gathered through a PubMed search and hand-searching of key journals, existing networks, and relevant organizations. Grey literature was gathered from books, governmental documents, newspapers, advocacy group websites, and other networks and organizations. Sources were screened on eligibility with inclusion and exclusion and included criteria sources were charted into different categories of information on which the result section was based.

This study found that the number of transgender individuals applying for gender-affirmative care has greatly increased with application numbers that increased four-fold between 2010 and 2020. The waiting times until intake for gender-affirmative care are currently 2 years for adults and 1.5 year for children and adolescents.  Moreover, it was found that the needs and wishes of the transgender population have become more divers. Through grey literature sources it was found that transgender individuals who are currently under treatment at Dutch gender clinics experience insufficient personalized care. Those who have a non-binary gender identity often feel that they are expected to undergo a (more) binary transitional trajectory. However, no academic studies have been performed on this topic in the Netherlands. The author recommends quantitative studies into the use gender-affirmative treatment options different transgender individuals wish and choose to undergo. Moreover, quantitative data on the experiences of the diverse transgender population in the current gender-affirmative care system need to be collected. 

The Rainbow Obstacle Course:

Examining the effects of the Canadian refugee determination system on the mental health of LGBTQ+ refugee claimants

Author: Stéphane Aubin (B.Sc., M.Sc. Global Health)

Type: Thesis

Abstract

The current refugee status determination (RSD) process for LGBTQ+ claimants seeking asylum in Canada is highly intrusive, inequitable, and traumatic. These refugees are asked to provide deeply personal documents in order to prove that their identity is “credible”, and that they are therefore an “authentic” LGBTQ+ refugee. Further, the rise of a toxic “authentic vs. bogus” refugee claimant discourse has often shoehorned claimants into personal narratives tailored to fit the Canadian preconceived notions of LGBTQ+ identities - for fear of rejection otherwise. Because of this, the RSD process has the potential to severely aggravate already serious mental health conditions prevalent in LGBTQ+ forced migrants, a problematic situation compounded by the fact that few appropriate mental health support structures exist to help these marginalized people. This paper seeks to examine the ways in which the policy landscape of the Canadian RSD process contributes to this near-hostile environment for LGBTQ+ refugees, and address some interesting avenues for future research which could, given proper attention and implementation, ensure a fairer immigration system overall, and an RSD process which is respectful of the dignity and privacy of LGBTQ+ claimants.

Repositioning Birth:

Conjugating the biomedical and intersectional feminist paradigms to investigate birth positions among the Quichua communities of Ecuador and Peru

Author: Maddalena Giacomozzi

Type: Thesis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the power dynamics related to gender, race and class that interplay in the adoption of a birth position for the Quichua peoples of Ecuador and Peru. 

Background: The Quichua communities of Ecuador and Peru are disproportionately affected by maternal mortality. Cultural barriers have been previously identified as significant barriers to reproductive care for this population. While Quichua midwifery encourages vertical birth positions, biomedicine has normalized horizontal deliveries in reproductive services, thus providing culturally inadequate care for the Quichua.  

Methods: A scoping review was conducted involving a journal search of five journals and a gray literature search. The data have been analysed through an integrated framework that conjugated the biomedical and the intersectional feminist paradigms. 

Results: Six peer-reviewed articles were retained from four journals in addition to three national and regional policies as gray literature sources. Five sources were published in English, four in Spanish. 

Conclusion: Obstetric violence is a prevailing and naturalized experience for the Quichua, who are commonly denied the right to self-determine their birth position. Quichua parturients are in a socially disadvantaged position as they find themselves at the intersection of different axes of oppression related to gender, race, and class. Current reproductive care in public health facilities reinforces hegemonic biomedical epistemology by institutionalizing exclusively horizontal delivery without an evidence base. Structural and targeted intercultural health interventions are urgently needed to increase the adequacy and accessibility of reproductive care for the Quichua.