Access to Information and Support for LGBTQI+ People Seeking Asylum: A Qualitative Exploration of Coventry’s Asylum Accommodation

Abstract

Both asylum seekers and LGBTQI+ people systemically lack access to information; in the context of the British asylum system, intersections and interactions between being LGBTQI+ and seeking asylum aggravate this insufficiency. This research project is unique in its exploration of the effects of the hostile asylum accommodation environment on LGBTQI+ people’s access to information through the case study of Coventry’s immigration accommodation. The research question ‘What is the nature of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers’ access to information and support in the context of Coventry’s immigration accommodation?’ was explored through interviews and focus groups with local LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum. The findings show that participants mainly accessed information through government-funded charities and accommodation staff, and that they had limited access to services specifically developed for LGBTQI+ people. They faced violence in the asylum accommodation, which translated into isolation and fear of revealing their sexual orientations and/or gender identities in order to request specialised information from housing staff. The fear was aggravated by staff inaction, which led to participants feeling discriminated against, and which further reduced their attempts to request support. This created a vicious cycle, in which LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum have continuously less access to information, which illustrates a systemic unpreparedness in the British asylum system to support this group.