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

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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.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the repository on https://www.rvv-cce.be/nl/arr.

Notes

  1. Art. 21 Directive 2013/33/EU.

  2. Both systems (ECHR and EU law) can influence the development of asylum practice in this area (e.g., the 2011 Qualification Directive mentions sexual orientation and gender-related aspects).

  3. We obtained ethical clearance in 2017 from the ethics committee of our institution concerning the use of anonymized data (including case files) in scientific publications.

  4. Art. 39, Belgian Alien’s Law, 15 December 1980.

  5. Upon registration at the Immigration Office, the procedural language—either of Belgium’s two main official languages, Dutch or French—is established. If the applicant does not speak the procedural language, s/he can ask for an interpreter to facilitate communication with the asylum authorities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. YOUCA vzw, Nijverheidsstraat 10, 1000, Brussel, Belgium

    Loes Verhaeghe

  2. Vakgroep Vertalen, Tolken & Communicatie, Campus Mercator, Groot-Brittanniëlaan 45, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Marie Jacobs & Katrijn Maryns

Authors
  1. Loes Verhaeghe
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  2. Marie Jacobs
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  3. Katrijn Maryns
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Correspondence to Marie Jacobs.

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Verhaeghe, L., Jacobs, M. & Maryns, K. Discursive Tensions of Credibility and Performance in Assessing Lesbian Refugee Claims for International Protection. Int. Migration & Integration 24 (Suppl 4), 769–790 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-023-01009-9

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