Forced migration and sexual and gender-based violence in queer communities: UK findings from the SEREDA project

By Pip McKnight, Jenny Phillimore and Dawn River with support from Rainbow Migration 

  Over the past six years, the SEREDA (Sexual and gender-based violence in the refugee crisis: from displacement to arrival) project has been examining the experiences and incidents of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) across the forced migration journey. Initial findings from SEREDA suggested that LGBTQI+ people who seek asylum face incidents of and vulnerability to SGBV that are distinct from heterosexual and cisgender populations, including in countries of sanctuary seemingly accepting of sexual and gender diversity. This project aimed to build on the initial findings of SEREDA to gain a more complete understanding of the current situation in the UK. Against an international backdrop of increasingly draconian anti-LGBTQI+ laws fuelled by fundamentalist religious and right-wing groups, this research sought to examine the experiences of queer people seeking asylum in the UK.  

Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham and Rainbow Migration,2024. 28p.