Discursive Tensions of Credibility and Performance in Assessing Lesbian Refugee Claims for International Protection

Loes Verhaeghe (), Marie Jacobs () and Katrijn Maryns ()
Additional contact information
Loes Verhaeghe: YOUCA vzw
Marie Jacobs: Vakgroep Vertalen
Katrijn Maryns: Vakgroep Vertalen

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2023, vol. 24, issue 4, No 4, 769-790

Abstract: Abstract This article examines how the discursive tensions inherent to processes of categorisation play out in the credibility assessment of lesbian applications for international protection in Belgium. While most research has studied LGBTI applicants as an umbrella category, this article deals with lesbian applicants and the way in which their performance of sexual orientation is measured against normative categories and expectations of the asylum procedure. The article draws on an extended corpus of written judgements published by the Belgian Council for Alien Law Litigation. Using tools and concepts from institutional discourse studies, the analysis reveals how the asylum system is premised on normative and essentialising expectations of what kind of experience qualifies as ‘authentic’ lesbian experience, but also of how this experience ought to be expressed in order to be credible. It is concluded that a more intersectional approach to credibility assessment of asylum applications could mitigate essentialist categorisations and better respond to the individual needs and vulnerabilities of lesbian applicants.

Keywords: International protection; Asylum seekers; Credibility assessment; LGBTI; Gender identity; Sexual orientation; Lesbians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-023-01009-9

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