User:Lgay124/Transgender asylum seekers

Article body:
'''As defined in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee or asylum seeker is any "person owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion ... [or] membership [to] a particular social group [that cannot] avail himself of the protection of that country." Transgender asylum seekers, in turn, are transgender people seeking refuge in another country due to the stigmatization or persecution in their home countries, including physical and sexual assault, torture, conversion therapy practices, and imprisonment. Transgender people often face challenges in the asylum process not experienced by others as a result of their identity. In the US, asylum claims made by transgender refugees are considered under the basis of persecution because of their involvement in a particular social group. This requirement means that membership to a group is not enough in order to claim asylum, but that refugees must prove that they've been persecuted because of their social group's standing. To do so, transgender refugees must produce proof of persecution, which often requires them to retell experiences of trauma through categories such as gender reassignment, sex assigned at birth, their dead name, hormone therapy, etc. These requirements might not be applicable to multiple cultures and being seen as a "true" transgender asylum seeker often requires refugees to retell their experiences through a lens of trauma and through Westernized vocabulary'''.

Countries of origin
Transgender persons may have experienced "severe persecution" in the countries they have fled, even where anti-transgender laws do not exist. Due to the fact that transgender people often move away from identifying with their sex assigned at birth and/ or feel as if their gender is fluid, many transgender refugees face persecution, discrimination, and transphobia in their home countries. '''Regardless of anti-transgender laws, the strict gender norms that exist in many countries result in the violence faced by many transgender refugees. The stigmatization and violence faced by this group of refugees can take place in a range of places, including within the home, the workplace, with health care providers, or simply from the general population.''' In one 1999 case, a transgender woman only avoided deportation from the United States after her attorney invoked the United Nations Convention against Torture, making the case that "Amanda was subject to torture under the color of law" in Nicaragua. In another 1999 case, a transgender man was granted asylum in the United States under the reasoning that he would be a "social pariah" in Iraq. In 2017, Amnesty International released a report on LGBTI people seeking asylum in Mexico, describing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as being "no safe place" for transgender people. A 2020 public health review determined that transgender women seeking asylum from Mexico were fleeing a situation of "extreme vulnerability." '''A report based on interviews from 28 transgender women from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, highlighted that all the women interviewed had survived physical assault, verbal violence, and denial of routine treatments while in detention. Although fleeing persecution from their home countries, the amount of physical and emotional violence faced within the detention system demonstrates how transgender people face discrimination throughout their entire asylum process.'''

'''In some cases, transgender asylum seekers are at greater risk than others offered refugee status. Although seeking asylum for sexual orientation or gender identity can constitute viable grounds for an asylum claim, "proving" one's identity can be particularly challenging for transgender asylum seekers. Adjudicators often rely on outdates, medicalized notions of what it means to be transgender, and usually require transgender asylum seekers to desire, seek out, or obtain, some sort of medical procedure before approval.''' In 2022 the United Kingdom arranged for Rwanda to absorb asylum seekers in a highly controversial policy. While this policy has yet to be fully implemented, transgender asylum seekers would be at greater risk in Rwanda than in the United Kingdom due to Rwanda's prosecution of transgender people.

Transgender people may also be at risk while detained in the countries in which they seek asylum. NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, Transgender Europe, and the National Center for Transgender Equality have reported cases of rape and abuse of transgender people in UK, US, Norwegian, and Greek facilities for asylum seekers. In the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement places transgender asylum seekers in a "transgender pod" where there is a lack of medical and mental health services. '''Additionally, some countries rely on a gender binary in their placement of transgender refugees during the detention process. Because of this reliance, some transgender refugees are subjected to being placed in detention centers from their sex assigned at birth. This placement adds another sense of mental distress, trauma, and physical abuse on transgender refugees.'''

Asylum outcomes
When denied asylum, there have been reports of adverse outcomes for transgender persons. According to the ASPIDH Rainbow Trans Association, a transgender woman seeking asylum in the United States was killed in El Salvador weeks after her request was denied. Transgender persons may still face difficulties after being granted asylum because of their gender identity. The Williams Institute reported in 2022 that transgender asylum seekers may be disproportionately harmed by detention practices and face sustained mental health challenges as a result.

Legal issues and political debate
Globally, asylum laws leave LGBT refugee detainees "particularly susceptible to heightened levels of physical and mental abuse." Transgender refugees in particular suffer from inadequate access to hormone therapy while in the asylum process, and often suffer from physical abuse within detention. In the United States, for example, transgender refugees may only receive hormone treatment if they were already undergoing such treatments before being detained. This lack of access may make them more visible during transition and hence more readily targeted for transphobic abuse.

Since 2000, the United States has recognized transgender asylum seekers as a social group that deserves protection on the basis of gender identity. '''The lack of employment opportunities in their home countries, as a result of their transgender identity, sometimes means that transgender refugees were forced into prostitution as a means of survival. Despite the US' recognition of transgender asylum seekers, transgender refugees are sometimes disqualified under the United States' criminalization of prostitution, even if they are not engaged in criminal activity. ''' The United States' requirement that transgender refugees prove their identity also disadvantages them in the refugee process as many refugees are unable to begin transitioning until arriving in the United States.

Some U.S. political activists have sought to improve conditions for transgender asylum seekers.