All forms of persecution are heinous, but there are particular characteristics to sexual orientation and gender identity based claims that make giving an account of this kind of persecution especially difficult for claimants. One is that it usually occurs outside of the public eye. Often it is in families. Often people are betrayed by their family members and by their classmates. The traumas they've experienced are associated with relational betrayal and sexual violence. Both of these are particularly traumatizing, and we know through the psychological literature that they have long-standing impacts on a person's ability to give coherent testimony.
