PASSOP LGBTI Refugee Support and Advocacy Project

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Project Coordinator

Homophobic discrimination is deeply rooted in societies all across Africa. Countless LGBTI individuals are being persecuted on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity on a daily basis. The reality they face is one of social exclusion, exploitation and violence. As a result, an increasing number of LGBTI refugees are fleeing the persecution in their home countries in search for safety and freedom. Many turn to South Africa for refuge, one of only a few African countries that grants asylum on the grounds of sexuality. However, despite South Africa’s official position, it often fails to provide protection and assistance to LGBTI refugees, and many LGBTI asylum-seekers are being rejected unfoundedly. The plight of these refugees is further reinforced by the deeply-rooted homophobia that prevails in South African society. When this homophobia is compounded by the widespread xenophobia, it leaves many LGBTI refugees in marginalized conditions not unlike those they fled in the first place.

PASSOP recently launched an LGBTI Refugee Support and Advocacy Project that attempts to more actively provide support to these disenfranchised individuals and to advocate for the better realization of their human rights. We are looking for a motivated and dynamic young individual to be the Project Coordinator of this project.

The roles and responsibilities of the Project Coordinator will be to:

• Organise community workshops and integration events aimed at helping LGBTI refugees integrate into their communities and bridging the gap between the local and refugee LGBTI communities;
• Create a solidarity network to connect LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers with each other;
• Provide LGBTI refugees with paralegal advice and assistance;
• Actively assist in searching for employment opportunities for LGBTI refugees;
• Advocate for the rights of LGBTI refugees through the media and civil society in order to raise awareness around their plight;
• Build partnerships with other civil society organisations in South Africa and beyond to work together to bridge the gaps that exist in the protection of LGBTI refugees; and
• Monitor and conduct research on the South African government’s sexual refugee policies to assess its delivery on its constitutional commitment to sexual refugees.

The successful candidate should have the following qualifications and competencies:

• Relevant academic background in gender studies, law, social development, political sciences, international relations or related fields;
• At least 1 year of work experience in the non-profit sector, preferably in the field of refugee rights, migration or human rights;
• Knowledge of asylum system and immigration policy in South Africa;
• Excellent people management and communication skills;
• Ability to write reports and manage budgets;
• Fluent in English; (knowledge of Xhosa, Shona, Swahili or French is a plus);
• Computer literacy;
• Experience in video editing is a plus;
• Passion for human rights and the plight of refugees is a must;
• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural working environment.

If you do not have all of these qualifications, but feel that you would be a strong candidate, we encourage you to apply. Women and members of the LGBTI community are particularly encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to refugees, asylum seekers and South African nationals.

To apply, please send your CV, one reference letter, and a writing sample to [email protected] The application deadline is Monday, January 9^th 2012.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for interviews in the week of January 16 – 20^th. The successful candidate will commence work on February 1^st 2012. The initial contract will be 11 months. The position is based in Wynberg, Cape Town.

For more information on PASSOP and the LGBTI Project, see below.

BACKGROUND

About PASSOP

PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty) is a community-based, grassroots non-profit organization devoted to protecting and promoting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in South Africa. PASSOP was founded in 2007 in response to the growing xenophobic tensions and outbreaks of violence in South Africa. Since then, with a diverse team made up of staff from various African countries (including South Africa, Zimbabwe, D.R.C., Uganda and Nigeria), as well as volunteers from the U.S. and Europe, we have worked tirelessly to raise awareness around the difficult living conditions of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers and to defend their cause. PASSOP has gained widespread visibility and legitimacy in communities of foreign nationals and civil society across the country by making effective use of the media and political structures.

We provide support to foreign nationals in a number of ways, including: offering paralegal advice on labor, documentation, health care, education, housing and banking issues, running anti-xenophobia helpdesks in township communities to monitor tensions on the ground and to foster the integration of foreign nationals, providing assistance in CV-building and job-searching, monitoring public policy and service delivery (for example the Zimbabwean Dispensation Project) to hold the government to account in its treatment of foreign nationals, and through public information and awareness raising campaigns. We also run a ‘Disabled Children Support Project’ that aims to assist and inform immigrant families with disabled children, as well as an ‘African Solidarity Education Project’ in which our staff and volunteers go into high schools to discuss and debate issues of human rights, stereotypes, immigration and xenophobia.

Through all of these projects, PASSOP seeks to alleviate all forms of discrimination against refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. PASSOP is deeply committed to the preservation of human rights and we believe that all members of the community are entitled to these inalienable rights. Our newly conceptualized LGBTI Refugee Support Project is the long-overdue addition to our programme. With it we hope to ensure that the rights of LGBTI foreign nationals in South Africa are protected and their integration into local communities is vastly improved.

LGBTI Refugee Project - Problem Statement

The problems facing LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers are numerous and serious. In their countries of origin they are exposed and subjected to discrimination, persecution, exclusion and violence. In many African countries homosexuality is illegal and criminal charges are often laid on people simply for expressing their sexuality or gender identity. For example, Malawi has criminalized homosexual activity and instituted punishments of up to 14 years in prison “with or without corporal punishment.”[1] In addition to this systematic anti-gay sentiment, a study conducted by the Center for Development of People revealed that 34% of gay Malawian men were denied basic social services like healthcare and 8% had been beaten by police or other officials because of their sexual orientation.[2]

Malawi represents one of many countries in Africa where LGBTI persons face unthinkable hardships. Through our work with LGBTI refugees in recent months, we have encountered many young people who fled their homes because they experienced physical and sexual abuse, were victims of arbitrary arrests, were blackmailed by employers, suffered violent extortion by police officials and thugs, and, in almost every case, experienced abandonment and exclusion by family members. For example, one Congolese gay man revealed that his mother had attempted to inject him with a syringe filled with petrol as a way of ‘curing’ his homosexuality. It is without a doubt that there are many places in Africa where homosexuals are at a high risk of death and therefore have no option but to flee. Most do not have the resources to make it to the West, and South Africa becomes the best option for refuge.

When they arrive in South Africa, however, their plight is only marginally improved. Although homosexuality may not be a criminal offense in this country, many LGBTI refugees face continued discrimination, harassment and exploitation in their new communities. This is a risk of course for many refugees and foreign nationals who come to South Africa, but LGBTI face unique vulnerabilities. When homophobia is compounded with xenophobia, it leaves many LGBTI refugees in conditions similar to those in the countries that they left in the first place. Rather than being a support structure, the refugee communities that exist in South Africa in most cases uphold the same anti-gay sentiment as in their home countries. Many of the refugees we have interviewed said that they were ‘kicked out’ of homes in and around Cape Town many times, once their landlords or housemates became aware that they were gay.

Economic instability is another crucial problem for LGBTI refugees. In the face of 25-35% unemployment, finding a job in South Africa is difficult enough as a foreigner. Finding a job as an openly homosexual or transgender foreigner is even more difficult. In the absence of support structures (neither from their families at home, who have shunned them, nor from the refugee community in South Africa) this inability to secure consistent income leaves LGBTI refugees at risk to unique forms of exploitation. Most are forced into prostitution, as this becomes the only way for them to earn money. The only way to stop these (mostly) young men from becoming sex workers is to actively assist them in finding employment opportunities.

In addition to the broad-based discrimination and exclusion they face, LGBTI asylum-seekers often face difficulties in the documentation process in South Africa. As already suggested, although South Africa officially grants asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, flaws in the documentation process leave many individuals with legitimate asylum claims without refugee status. We have come across several people who have been denied refugee status without legitimate reasons. For example, one Ugandan gay man was denied asylum even though his sexuality cost him his job and compelled his family members to blackmail him and threaten him with violence. He had even been actively involved in a Ugandan LGBTI advocacy organization, was arrested for taking part in a protest, and was since then targeted by anti-gay individuals. Without question, his hardships should have qualified him for refugee status. However, he was rejected and we assisted him in appealing this decision. The reasons for the failures of the Asylum system are not always that blatant, however. For example, many LGBTI individuals are not comfortable openly admitting their sexuality or gender identity to immigration officials when they first meet. There is thus a clear need both to advise and support LGBTI refugees in the Asylum-seeking process, as well as to monitor and advocate for systematic reforms in the documentation processes.

Below is the latest list of ZDP permits ready for collection at Bellville Home Affairs. The list is organised in alphabetical order. If your name is not on the list, older lists can be viewed here. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call our office at 021 762 0322.