{"title":"Withholding the letter: Transgender asylum seekers, legal gender recognition, and the UNHCR mandate","authors":"B. Camminga","doi":"10.1093/jrs/feae058","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n In the absence of legal gender recognition (LGR), transgender people carry documents that misrecognize them. The link between LGR’s absence and exposure to violence and exclusion—experiences that often force transgender people to flee—is clarified by scholarship. However, when a trans person seeks asylum, they are often provided with documents that, rather than unambiguously recognizing their bearer, repeat this misrecognition. This incongruence often exposes transgender asylum seekers to greater risk. Previously, I have argued that, at the moment in which they seek international protection, transgender asylum seekers experience a form of statelessness due to the absence of LGR. In this paper, I build on this argument, drawing on a range of empirical studies to suggest that conditions of statelessness already exist prior to fleeing. As a result, I argue that the UNHCR is under obligation to provide documents recognizing their holder, even if this runs counter to state legislation.","PeriodicalId":51464,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Refugee Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Refugee Studies","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feae058","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEMOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In the absence of legal gender recognition (LGR), transgender people carry documents that misrecognize them. The link between LGR’s absence and exposure to violence and exclusion—experiences that often force transgender people to flee—is clarified by scholarship. However, when a trans person seeks asylum, they are often provided with documents that, rather than unambiguously recognizing their bearer, repeat this misrecognition. This incongruence often exposes transgender asylum seekers to greater risk. Previously, I have argued that, at the moment in which they seek international protection, transgender asylum seekers experience a form of statelessness due to the absence of LGR. In this paper, I build on this argument, drawing on a range of empirical studies to suggest that conditions of statelessness already exist prior to fleeing. As a result, I argue that the UNHCR is under obligation to provide documents recognizing their holder, even if this runs counter to state legislation.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Refugee Studies provides a forum for exploration of the complex problems of forced migration and national, regional and international responses. The Journal covers all categories of forcibly displaced people. Contributions that develop theoretical understandings of forced migration, or advance knowledge of concepts, policies and practice are welcomed from both academics and practitioners. Journal of Refugee Studies is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, and is published in association with the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford.