Queer Migrants in the UK during the Period of the Hostile Environment by https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb en-us 2023-04-10 16:03:30 UTC 2023-04-16 10:02:31 UTC hello@padlet.com 2007: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548978534 Evidence based policy emerges as a way to create policy based on evidence of what is successful in a real-world context, rather than ideology (Madziva and Lowndes, 2018). This means that policy makers will be using data from studies about different migrant groups to inform their policy-making, rather than using pre-existing beliefs - in theory, this should improve the policy-making process, and make policies much more fair to those who they are aimed at.
 

]]> 2023-04-10 16:07:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548978534 2008: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548980792 Independent Asylum Commission found, whilst investigating decision-makers in asylum claims: 

  • There had been efforts to improve the calibre and training of decision-makers 
  • A “culture of disbelief” was still prevalent, along with insufficient qualifications, which has led to unjust and unfair decisions 
  • There is an adversarial nature to the asylum system, which unfairly positions the asylum seeker against the odds. 

  • Asylum applicants should be given the benefit of the doubt (UNHCR, 2019), so the above is quite concerning.

]]> 2023-04-10 16:09:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548980792 2010: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548981987 Theresa May comes in as Home Secretary and focuses on reducing “illegal immigration” . There is an ongoing debate about whether there is such a thing as “illegal” immigration.

]]> 2023-04-10 16:10:48 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548981987 2011: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548982448 UK border agency policies state that documentary evidence of sexual acts is not necessary to assess legitimacy of the claim. This is despite the lawyers of male gay asylum applicants testifying that documentary evidence was submitted and deemed as acceptable evidence in the cases of their clients (BBC Today, 2013, as cited in Lewis, 2014).

]]> 2023-04-10 16:11:16 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548982448 2012: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548985905 Theresa May announces the “hostile environment” in an interview in the Daily Telegraph (Kirkup and Winnet, 2012) - “The aim is to create here in Britain a really hostile environment for illegal migration.” This aims to reduce number of migrants through restricting their rights and access to services.

]]> 2023-04-10 16:12:06 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548985905 2014: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548986959 UK legalises same-sex marriage (UK Parliament, 2022). This puts out the image that the UK is accepting and tolerant, and does this on an international stage. The UK presents itself as somewhere that it is safe to be non-heterosexual, which would appeal to those who are being persecuted for their sexuality in their home country. 

]]> 2023-04-10 16:12:59 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548986959 2013: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548987809 UK Border Agency becomes UK Visas and Immigration, an internal part of the Home Office, in a bid to return power to the hands of the state in order to create a “change towards stability” (Giametta, 2018). The “culture of disbelief” remained consistent among civil servants throughout all this restructuring, where asylum seekers are treated as guilty until proven innocent (Mayblin, 2017; 12).

]]> 2023-04-10 16:13:49 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548987809 2016: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548988566 Scholarship emerges about the neutrality of evidence, and whether the adjudication of evidence in asylum claims can be truly neutral and impartial (Lowndes, 2016). The importance of the claim is ultimately decided by what the individual adjudicating the claim feels is important due to their understanding of the social world (Clarence, 2002: 5). 

]]> 2023-04-10 16:14:30 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548988566 2022: lc2076_2 https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548992126 UK Government approves an asylum partnership with Rwanda, meaning that UK will send some migrants claiming refuge in the UK to Rwanda (Gower et al, 2022). Although being gay is legal is Rwanda, it is still taboo and many queer people may not feel safe there - they may face discrimination and there is no legal protection for them (GOV.UK). 

]]> 2023-04-10 16:18:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lc2076_2/q1x1i5moscmhy2yb/wish/2548992126