Experiences of African LGBTI asylum seekers in South Africa

Abstract

This study largely focuses on the general experiences of African sexual and-gender-minority asylum seekers in South Africa. With South Africa having a progressive constitution as well as being the pioneer in implementing the widely recognised task of hosting the first sexual and gender minority asylum seekers and refugees on the continent, the country has raised interest, necessitating inquiry into whether these policies benefit the individuals that they initially weremeant for in their everyday experiences. This study reveals that sexual and gender minority asylum seekers from various African societies feel a sense of freedom when living in South Africa because the enshrined laws formerly and constitutionally protect their rights. Additionally, the participants in this study revealed that the stronger economic state of South Africa relative to the rest of the continent - where most countries are struggling economically - affects most migrants’ decisions to migrate to this country and contribute to elevating the welfare situations of their households in their home countries. They do this even in the face of being alienated by those families or societies owing to their gender or sexual preferences. The inevitable sense of obligation towards economically supporting their families in their countries of origin increasesthe respondents’ sense of belonging to their communities of origin despite their circumstances. Nevertheless, the South African migration laws do not always translate into an easier life for sexual minorityasylum seekers from Africa because like any other African society, South Africa has cultural traditions that view sexuality-and-gender minority advocacy as an imposition from western cultures and thus un-African. This study’s findings included a range of factors, including the corruption and exploitation found at the Home Affairs department, the deep rooted evidence of anti-sexual-and-gender minority beliefs held in society leading to malfunctions in the asylum processes and various others. Other issues emanating from interviews of this study are xenophobia and HIV/AIDS as these are part of the daily lived experiences of the general migrant community, although the target group of this research was the more vulnerable owing to their disadvantaged situations in relation to their sexualities and genders. Sex work is another interesting factor that some respondents indicated as an income-generating venture and this is also marred by exploitation and discrimination. All in all, experiences of marginalisation of African sexual minority asylum seekers largely affect underprivileged communities.