Busting 10+1 Myths
Raising questions – Giving answers – Busting Myths
The new SolidarityNow video that informs and raises awareness aiming to defend
LGBT refugees’ rights
Myth 1: Can you tell that someone is gay just by looking?
Myth 2: Does an LGBT person feel free in Greece?
Myth 3: Why do some LGBT people flee their home country?
One minute and seven seconds are enough to bust the 10 + 1 myths that surround the members of the LGBT community, refugees and non-refugees. Providing answers to the above questions, SolidarityNow, through the Bridging Rainbow program, seeks to break down myths against fundamental human rights and build a bridge towards respect.
“Bridging Rainbow”
The project “Bridging Rainbow” aims to raise awareness about the vulnerable social group of LGBT refugees by increasing the knowledge and understanding of all relevant stakeholders.
It also intends via targeted awareness actions to strengthen the collaboration among all stakeholders supporting the LGBT refugee community and act as an accelerator of social change facilitating this way the pathway towards the refugees’ and asylum seekers’ social inclusion and integration. To achieve this goal, busting myths and stereotypes about the LGBT community but also regarding refugees and asylum seekers is an extremely important step.
The Importance of Raising Awareness
Raising awareness and sharing information about issues that concern LGBT people is vital for ameliorating the quality of services available for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers for their identities to be accepted, understood and respected by all relevant stakeholders. LGBT refugees often face ignorance and insensitivity both in their own cultural communities and in the humanitarian sector.
At the same time, the Greek LGBT community isn’t always open to racial, ethnic and religious difference, which is another aspect of the intersecting identities of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers that must be respected. It is equally important to ensure that organizations about LGBT rights are well informed in legal and other practical issues, as well as in matters of intersectionality, inclusion and cultural diversity.
In order to respond to the above, the Bridging Rainbow program includes:
- Sensitization trainings and information sessions regarding the legal framework and the asylum procedure.
- Workshops to support the access and integration of refugees and asylum seekers to the labor market.
- Capacity-building of stakeholders that serve this group.
- Relevant informational and awareness raising events.
Did you know that
80 countries worldwide criminalize same-sex relations?
While most refugee populations flee their home countries due to conflict, political instability and natural disasters, LGBT refugees flee their homes simply due to their sexual orientation and gender identity for which they face persecution, discrimination and violations of their basic human rights.
Nearly 80 countries worldwide criminalize same-sex relations, while specific laws limiting the rights of the LGBT community may not exist in some countries, and governments often fail to adequately protect this group’s fundamental human rights in the face of abuses and violations. LGBT refugees and asylum seekers face numerous challenges throughout their displacement, including prejudice, unjust detention, sexual and gender-based violence, inhibited access to humanitarian services, and barriers to articulating protection needs during the asylum process.
*Τhe project is implemented by SolidarityNow and supported by the Municipality of Barcelona and the foundation ACSAR.