We are deeply concerned about the impact of barring claimants from an H and C application both during and for 12 months after the claim.
These measures form a crucial safety net for LGBT people at risk of serious harm in their home countries. Determining when homophobia and transphobia cross the threshold and become persecution is challenging. Board members and lawyers struggle to make this call. Good information is sparse and the gap between laws on paper and on the ground conditions is large.
Marta, from Mexico, arrived at a Rainbow Refugee meeting two years ago. With time, she confided in us. As a young woman she had been rejected by family because of her sexuality. On her own since the age of 16, she dealt with harassment as a butch lesbian and a mixed race Mexican.
In 2008 she was viciously attacked by a gang of men with connections to the police. They beat and burned her, smashed her hands, and threatened to kill her. Marta and her girlfriend went into hiding, but the threats continued. Marta filed police reports and was told that she would have to pay daily for protection from the police.
The two women tried relocating and in each city, threats followed. After another close call, Marta bought a plane ticket to Vancouver. Would you advise Marta to make a refugee claim or to file an agency application?