The organizational-level communication of African LGBT refugee NGOs on social media

Abstract

Roughly forty percent of countries continue to categorize homosexuality as illegal. Punishment ranges from imprisonment, fines, sanctions, beatings, to death. However, refugee status is still granted largely on the basis of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which found that the term refugee applies only to a person who has a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Very few countries allow sexual orientation as grounds for refugee status given that applicants must prove that sexual orientation constitutes a ‘particular social group or political opinion’ as mandated by the 1951 Convention. There are nineteen countries that recognize persecution due to sexual orientation as a justified reason for gaining refugee status if an applicant can demonstrate a fear of persecution based on their membership in this particular social group. Canada was the first to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugees in 1991. The proportion of refugees who seek asylum due to their sexual orientation is extraordinarily low and applications are often unsuccessful.