First non-binary person granted UK refugee status.

[Defaultname]

"The judgment, in the upper tribunal, was decided in the case of Arthur Britney Joestar from El Salvador after concluding that they would face persecution for their identity if they returned to their home country.

In El Salvador, transgender women have a life expectancy of 35 years due to violence. Across the Latin America and Caribbean region, the figure ranges from 30 to 35 years, compared to average life expectancies ranging from 65 to 81."

"At the appeal hearing, Judge Bruce criticised the previous decision that the Salvadorian police attack was not persecution.

“It was a physical assault, by the police, motivated by nothing other than homophobia,” she said. “Five minutes is a long time to be beaten. I do not doubt that it was for the appellant a terrifying experience." www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/30/i-felt-like-i-was-born-again-first-non-binary-person-granted-uk-refugee-status

I'm glad we're civilised enough to give refuge to people who suffer such homophobia/transphobia, especially at the hands of their police.

It’s good to provide people asylum based on persecution due to any protected characteristic I think. So good for them, I’m sure they’ve need through many horrors and I hope they can find a better life!

That 30-35 “life expectancy” number for Latin American transsexuals is debunked though. While not totally clear, it appears to refer to the average age of murdered trans women in those countries (which makes sense, as younger people are more likely to get murdered, particularly people in prostitution as many LA trans women are).

www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/09/23/41471629/is-the-life-expectancy-of-trans-women-in-the-us-just-35-no

@ErrolTheDragon

I'm glad we're civilised enough to give refuge to people who suffer such homophobia/transphobia, especially at the hands of their police.

Same

Hmm, so this really is a safe country for transpeople. Always said it was.

I hate the idea of anyone being beaten and bullied; in a perfect world, such things wouldn't happen, and no-one would need to seek refuge.

People will bully others for the slightest reason. Fourty years ago, my uncle got shouts of 'Jesus Christ' and accusations of effeminacy because he had shoulder-length hair.

If I understand what 'non-binary' means, it's people who don't conform 100% to the stereotypes associated with their sex, in terms of behaviour and dress. This would mean that everyone is non-binary, so I don't think the term is very useful.

Poor person. Glad they have found safe haven here and hope they thrive.

What happend to the transwoman who applied to NZ for asylum due to UK transphobia, btw?

Yes, 'nonbinary' is really not a very useful term. The judge describes the attack as homophobic which does often seem to be a major factor in these crimes.

I saw that, Errol. Seemed a bit of an oxymoron, if person is non-binary they can hardly be homosexual, can they?

I also think this is a good thing. They were subjected to a brutal attack. I hope they find safety and peace.

Trust the Guardian to repeat unlikely-looking claims without bothering to check.

In El Salvador, transgender women have a life expectancy of 35 years due to violence. Across the Latin America and Caribbean region, the figure ranges from 30 to 35 years, compared to average life expectancies ranging from 65 to 81.

I’ve seen this claim made many times, but have never seen any evidence to back it up.

FWRLurker, thanks for finding the much more believable report that 35 is the average age of a transgender murder victim.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that more than half of all murder victims, worldwide, are under 30 years old.
www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/GSH2013/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf

@ErrolTheDragon

I'm glad we're civilised enough to give refuge to people who suffer such homophobia/transphobia, especially at the hands of their police.

Absolutely

@ErrolTheDragon

Yes, 'nonbinary' is really not a very useful term. The judge describes the attack as homophobic which does often seem to be a major factor in these crimes.

This confused me; at first I thought that they meant that a foreign judge had mentioned homophobia. If I've got it right, the abused person sees themselves as a victim of non-binary-phobia, but the judge thought it was homophobia, but the appeal for refuge was granted due to fears about the safety of a non-binary person.

I don’t understand how it can be safe for this person to have asylum the UK? I thought this was such a dangerous place for trans people that they are being murdered or taking their own lives every day because of trans phobia.

Isn’t that why we have to give up our human rights for them - the right to fair competition in sports, the right to privacy and dignity in hospital wards, clinics and changing rooms, the right to sports scholarships and awards, the right to meet with other women without male supervision, the right to define ourselves, the right to talk about our bodies and so much more?

It appears that this person was subjected to homophobic abuse in their home country, but only identified as non binary once in the UK. They weren't actually persecuted for their non-binariness but for being gay.

There is a piece written by this person here:

www.crisis.org.uk/media/244227/howthelightgetsin_winter-2020-21.pdf

I went to court in November 2018 and revealed everything again. Sadly once again, the Judge didn’t look into all the details and she refused to grant me protection. According to the Judge, the incidents that I suffered were harassment rather than persecution, and they never gave me a reason why I wouldn’t be at risk in my country after all the evidence I presented. (Meaning they found it acceptable for me to be beaten by the police for my sexuality and abused in the streets.)
...
Physically, my appearance also changed. Without the fear of the attitudes shown to me in my home country, I felt confident to explore my gender identity. I let my hair grow and I started to define myself as non-binary, because I love the best of both of sides of the spectrum: I love gorgeous long blond hair, along with regular man clothes, and a touch of spice with my nail polish.

We tried to appeal with the Upper Tribunal, but unfortunately, they said there were not enough grounds for an appeal, so my case was completely closed. I felt hopeless, and couldn’t believe that my new life and gender identity could be ending. Fortunately, my solicitor found that my new appearance and gender identity evolution was actually new evidence that had never been taken into account

It seems from this that the homophobic abuse they suffered in El Salvador wasn't enough to be granted asylum in the UK, but once they identified as non binary, they were viewed differently.

And non binary for a male person appears to be long hair and nail polish, but for female people involves mastectomies and testosterone.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4119563-Elective-Mastectomies-for-the-Non-Binary

Arabella that trans woman was granted residency in NZ - they had family ties, they had established social links, they had desired work skills and a job, and they paid tax.

So, it was really just a standard residency application - their gender status wasn't one of the important points the government require.

I did wonder how an asylum application from an El Salvadorean woman would fare: the stats are grim. A population of 62 million (so not much smaller than the UK) and a woman is murdered every 19 hours. It's got the third highest femicide rate in the world. Pretty much none of them are solved. The rates of sexual assault are astronomical and there are very few internal organisations that can help the victims - many try and flee but they risk further violence from gangs.

I'm very much in favour of the uk offering asylum to those who need it as Arthur presumably does, but does the judiciary ever look at the state of a country for women and state it's not safe for them to go back there? I've looked but can't find anything.

'm very much in favour of the uk offering asylum to those who need it as Arthur presumably does, but does the judiciary ever look at the state of a country for women and state it's not safe for them to go back there? I've looked but can't find anything.

I very much doubt it.

So a non-binary woman could just reverse that. Short hair, brassiere or pink and doesn't wear nail polish. Totally taking 'spice' from both ends of the spectrum.

both of sides of the spectrum

both of sides of the spectrum

Vivarium, I did not know that. Was it actually an 'asylum' claim as stated, then?

Lysistrata, that's horrific. Is escaping dv considered as a reason for granting asylum?

I saw that article earlier and was frustrated at the use of that life expectancy of 35 nonsense. Do no journalists check data anymore? No problem with people escaping persecution but it is interesting that being gay wasn't deemed a good enough reason.

Reading the piece it was clearly a homophobic attack

'In one incident, in the capital San Salvador, Joestar was stopped by police. “One of the policemen started asking about my hair, telling me I wasn’t normal, that they wanted to teach me how to be a man. Then they punched me on the chest and pushed me to the floor.'

It's good that we provide safety for people at risk in their own country.

I was also going to mention el Salvador women's rights record- women in prison for miscarrying.

Also. Do stonewall etc do anything about gay rights overseas? Loads of countries have awful laws/ very non accepting societies. Do they do anything around that? I would expect them to.

Arabella I can only think of one case with a form of DV, and I'm not actually sure that was through the usual asylum channels - Princess Haya, one of the wives of the ruler of Dubai, who fled with her two children. She needed protection certainly, and she can at least afford bodyguards to protect her and the children.

Ordinary women though? They'd have to first of all get here, and then have enough proof to convince a judge they were DV survivors. I'm not hopeful.

Do stonewall etc do anything about gay rights overseas? Loads of countries have awful laws/ very non accepting societies. Do they do anything around that? I would expect them to.

I’ve been wondering that too.

I had a look though their site quickly and while they mention it, all the stuff they have 'achieved' is UK and mainly based around trans and also training (paid).