Brussels, 05/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - European countries are regularly throwing out asylum applications from gay, bisexual or transsexual candidates on the grounds of “prejudice and stereotypes”, reports a Dutch study, which was part-funded by the European Commission and presented in Amsterdam on 5 September. According to Amsterdam's VU University and the organisation COC, the main conclusion from this study is that statements by LGTBI (lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex) asylum seekers are frequently rejected by the competent authorities as unfounded, with homosexuals having trouble being recognised as such and as being in danger in their own country if they “do not act effeminately”, according to a press release, or if they do not belong to a gay/lesbian association in their country of origin. These requirements are outdated, state the authors of the report, as “the credibility of asylum seekers should not be examined on the basis of stereotypes of this kind”, they write. In mid-May, there was a row between the Commission and the Czech Republic on this subject, with Prague being accused of making gay asylum seekers go through degrading phallometric tests to verify their claims.
In any case, “many European countries” expect asylum seekers to hide their sexual orientation or gender orientation in their country of origin to protect themselves against violence carried out on that basis, the authors of the study continued. “In so doing, the European countries are supporting homophobic violence”, argue the authors, who go on to lament the fact that the European states do not give sufficient recognition to laws criminalising homosexuality, a reality in 80 countries in the world today, in some of which it even carries the death sentence. (S.P./transl.fl)