In this entry I will be sharing with you the topic of sexual minority refugees in Canada. I discovered a couple of articles that touched on a subject I was completely unaware of. The authors of these articles discuss the struggles Canadian sexual minority refugees face.
The process of which determines wether or not one is able to come to Canada on refugee status is a difficult task in general, but it is even more difficult for those of a sexual minority. Not because of discrimination but because for one, this process requires the forced retelling of persecution that these people faced in their native country (Brotman & Lee, 2011, p. 153). This forced retelling and constant questioning of whether the stories are true or not can trigger traumatic psychological consequences (Brotman & Lee, 2011, p. 153). Furthermore, some adjudicators from the Immigration and Refugee Board incorporate their own stereotypical notions of sexuality and gender identity when making decisions (Brotman & Lee, 2011, p. 153). Refugees have a greater chance of success by playing up the stereotypes of effeminate men and butch women (Jenicek & Wong, 2009, p. 638).
Mullaly states that oppression occurs at three levels: the personal or individual level, the cultural level, and the structural or institutional level (2007, p. 264). Mullaly also says that each of these levels influence and reinforce oppression of the other two levels (2007, p. 264). If we are following Mullaly’s logic this means that the adjudicators, who are fairly powerful individuals, play a large role in influencing cultural, structural and institutional notions of what a queer person should look and act like! For example, by believing that a gay man must dress and act femininely to actually be considered a part of the LGBTTQ* community is a form of oppression. Mullaly refers to this form of oppression as Cultural Imperialism, when stereotypes are used to mark these people and at the same time their own experiences and perspectives are rendered invisible (2007, p. 268). There needs to be an acknowledgment amongst adjudicators that maybe some of these people, whose lives depend on the decision they will make don’t fit their notion of what a queer person should look or act like. This is portrayed in the image above, in a humorous fashion, when a gay refugee man is being told he will be deported for not passing what one could call a "gay quiz". Getting rid of these stereotypes will be a process that may take years but it starts with the idea that every sexual minority refugee has a different story and being judged on the same criteria is simply wrong.
References:
Brotman, S. & Lee, E. (2011). Exploring Gender and Sexuality Through The Lens of Intersectionality: Sexual Minority Refugees In Canada. Canadian Social Work Review, 28, 151-156.
Jenicek, A. & Wong, A. (2009). Dangerous Shortcuts: Representations of Sexual Minority Refugees in the Post-9/11 Canadian Press. Canadian Journal of Communication, 34, 635-658.
Mullaly, B. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada.
- Yodit D.
Forcing someone to talk about previous traumatic experiences causes the person to re-live the experience and is called re-vitimizing. I had no idea refugees were questioned about thier sexual identity! What's worse is that you said they are constantly questioned, and need to prove what they are saying is true.
ReplyDelete-Julianna
Great Post Yodit!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you no one should be asked to relive their memories that could be hurtful to themselves and they don't like talking about them. And yes I also agree that not everyone is the same and fits the stereotype of a " gay or "trans" everyone is different in their own way and that is what makes the world so unique. Thank you for enlightening me more on this topic.
Sara
Great job Yodit!
ReplyDeleteI was also unaware that sexual minorites are forced to talk about passed experiences, that is a terrible thing to do. If they were heterosexuals they wouldn't have to answer these questions. It's an unjust thing to do!
-Brigitte
I think that the adjudicators who are doing the question need to find a way to be an objective when hearing these stories, and set aside their biases. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair to the refugees at all! It really must be a traumatizing experience for them. If I were a refugee the constant questioning would definitely make me feel like I'm being interrogated, rather than being welcomed into the country. I hope the Immigration and Refugee Board can find a way to improve this part of the immigration process.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me more aware of this, Yodit! Great post.
- Adrienne
I thought both homosexual and heterosexuals had to talk about their past experiences in the Canadian procedures for immigrants and refugees? I recently read an article that stated that many immigrants and refugees had to relive their experiences over and over again with repetitive questions in the process of trying to move to Canada. I did not realize it was strictly for homosexual persons? If so that is extremely unjust! Great post!
ReplyDelete-Morgan
Interesting post, Yodit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that there should be some acknowledgement that people may not be completely comfortable discussing their sexual identity and reliving trauma's they may have faced in their previous countries. This post really caught my interest. I never really thought about refugees and sexual identity in this light before. I always thought in the discrimination point of view.
Why do I keep doing this...post was done by me.
ReplyDelete- Michal B.
Good post Yodit!
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting. I didn't know that sexual minorities had to talk about their experiences. I think this is wrong as no one should be asked to relive and talk about their hurtful memories as it can create horrible consequences for the person. This is unjust and not right! It is wrong that the adjudicators have a sterotyipcal notion when making their decision. I agree they need to realize that every sexual minority refugee has their own story and each shouldn't be judged the same way.
Lori
@Morgan To be honest with you, I'm not 100% sure whether or not both homosexuals and heterosexuals are forced to talked about past experiences. Now that I think about it, both probably do. I just find it slightly different for the queer community because I feel like one's sexuality or gender identity doesn't define who they are as a person, their is more to them than that and it shouldn't be something they are required to speak about because really it's none of the governments business.
ReplyDelete- Yodit