RT Article
T1 Asylum claims based on sexual orientation: a review of psycho-legal issues in credibility assessments
JF Psychology, crime & law
VO 29
IS 10
SP 1001
OP 1030
A1 Selim, Hedayat
A1 Korkman, Julia
A1 Pirjatanniemi, Elina 1966-
A1 Antfolk, Jan
A2 Korkman, Julia
A2 Pirjatanniemi, Elina 1966-
A2 Antfolk, Jan
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1862623139
AB The number of people seeking asylum based on their sexual orientation is expected to continue increasing. Assessing the credibility of such claims to determine whether asylum-seekers meet the criteria for refugee status is a complex task for asylum officials. These assessments involve several psychological aspects, affecting applicants’ disclosure and asylum officials’ determinations. Here, we present a narrative literature review of 47 original manuscripts to analyze credibility assessments in asylum claims based on sexual orientation. We demonstrate that asylum officials often make assumptions regarding human sexuality, sexual identity formation and sexual behavior that are either partially or entirely unsupported by psychological research. These assumptions are problematic as they undermine the validity of the asylum process and put vulnerable individuals at risk of severe harm. The challenges are aggravated in the cross-cultural context of asylum determinations, where applicants from different countries may manifest their sexual orientation in ways that deviate from Western expectations. We discuss the implications of our review’s findings for psychological research and asylum practice.
K1 Sexual Orientation
K1 Sexuality
K1 refugee status
K1 Asylum
K1 Credibility
DO 10.1080/1068316X.2022.2044038