LGBTQ asylum and refugeehood, and the treatment of LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees, raise several ethical and political theoretical questions that are distinct from the general questions of the ethics and politics of refugees. The current migration flows, immigration and admission policies, as well as modes of integration, are all affected by different notions – and expectations – of a person’s sexual and gender identity. LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees are among the most vulnerable groups in global migration movements and while media attention has highlighted several important cases, normative theorists have yet to pay sustained attention to the specific issues faced by this group.

This workshop brings together political philosophers, ethicists and other experts on asylum and refugees to discuss the political theoretical challenges of asylum and refugeehood with a specific focus on LGBTQ perspectives. The possible topics include (but are not restricted) to:

• The duties of states and/or civic society to LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees
• The ethics of prioritizing (or not) LGBTQ refugee admissions
• The treatment of testimony of LGBTQ refugees in asylum processes
• LGBTQ integration and the effects of LGBTQ refugees on the host society, especially in the context of racial and cultural difference
• The specific issues facing LGBTQ refugees in relation to family reunion practices
• The specific issues facing trans* and intersex refugees and intersex refugees
• The adverse effects of migration to LGBTQ persons and communities

The papers will be pre-circulated and workshoppers will be expected to read them in advance.

Confirmed speakers include Ruvi Ziegler (Reading), Annamari Vitikainen (UiT), Mengia Tschaler (Bristol), Rebecca Buxton (Oxford), Patti Tamara Lenard (Ottawa), Kerri Woods (Leeds).

Expressions of interest / abstracts of 300-500 words should be sent to Kerri Woods k.woods@leeds.ac.uk and Patti Tamara Lenard patti.lenard@uottawa.ca by March 1, 2020.

The workshop is organized by the Contemporary Political Theory Research Group and the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds in cooperation with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, at the University of Ottawa.