Abstract

Despite growing recognition of sexual orientation- and gender identity-based violence, scholars continue to identify barriers for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals seeking asylum protection. Lesbian women asylum applicants, in particular, encounter a system that is unsure how to classify their cases and that generally questions the credibility of women’s experiences. In this way, lesbian women applicants are among the most vulnerable populations of asylum claimants, particularly in the U.S. context. In this research note, I examine U.S. appellate level Circuit Court cases initiated by lesbian women asylum applicants. I expand existing literature to include an examination of how the violence faced by lesbian women is interpreted and ultimately erased as Circuit Courts grapple with legal interpretations of persecution. Specifically, I find three mechanisms of erasure: ruling that the violence experienced was unextreme, finding that the applicants’ accounts of violence were unsubstantiated, or arguing that the violence experienced was unrelated to the applicants’ sexual orientation. When placed in historical context, these patterns are troubling. Unlike previous decades that have witnessed overt homophobia, racism, and ethnocentrism in the immigration system, these cases indicate a more subtle form of exclusion—finding technicalities in case law and formal legal definitions as grounds for denial.

摘要

尽管越来越多地认识到基于性取向和性别认同的暴力，学者们继续为寻求庇护保护的女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别和酷儿 (LGBTQ) 个人确定障碍。女同性恋庇护申请者尤其会遇到一个不确定如何对她们的案件进行分类并且普遍质疑女性经历的可信度的系统。通过这种方式，女同性恋申请者是庇护申请者中最脆弱的群体之一，尤其是在美国背景下。在本研究报告中，我研究了由女同性恋庇护申请人发起的美国上诉级巡回法院案件。我扩展了现有文献，包括对女同性恋妇女面临的暴力如何解释并最终在巡回法院努力解决迫害的法律解释时被抹去的研究。具体来说，我发现了三种擦除机制：裁定所经历的暴力不极端，发现申请人对暴力的描述没有根据，或者认为所经历的暴力与申请人的性取向无关。当放在历史背景下时，这些模式令人不安。与前几十年在移民系统中目睹了明显的同性恋恐惧症、种族主义和种族中心主义不同，这些案件表明了一种更微妙的排斥形式——在判例法和正式法律定义中寻找技术细节作为拒绝的理由。裁定所经历的暴力不极端，发现申请人的暴力行为没有根据，或认为所经历的暴力与申请人的性取向无关。当放在历史背景下时，这些模式令人不安。与前几十年在移民系统中目睹了明显的同性恋恐惧症、种族主义和种族中心主义不同，这些案件表明了一种更微妙的排斥形式——在判例法和正式法律定义中寻找技术细节作为拒绝的理由。裁定所经历的暴力不极端，发现申请人的暴力行为没有根据，或认为所经历的暴力与申请人的性取向无关。当放在历史背景下时，这些模式令人不安。与前几十年在移民系统中目睹了明显的同性恋恐惧症、种族主义和种族中心主义不同，这些案件表明了一种更微妙的排斥形式——在判例法和正式法律定义中寻找技术细节作为拒绝的理由。