Badali, ‘Migrants in the closet’, 2019

Category: Literature
Source: Academic
Subject: Sexual Orientation/Sexuality, Gender Identity, Refugee/Asylum, Migration, LGBT+
Place: Europe, Other
Year: 2019
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2019.1548330

Joel John Badali, ‘Migrants in the closet: LGBT migrants, homonationalism, and the right to refuge in Serbia’, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 30(1), 2019

Abstract

This case study examines the accommodation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) migrants both de jure, in law, and de facto, in practice, in Serbia. The Balkan passage was a critical gateway for migrants throughout the 2015 European migrant crisis. Wedged between Eastern and Western politics, Serbia in particular faces pressure to promote LGBT rights arising from its candidacy for EU accession. The plight of LGBT communities seeking asylum is animated by interviews conducted with service providers working with these migrants in Serbia. The findings reflect the challenges of accommodating LGBT migrants in view of Serbia’s geopolitical dynamics, while situating this community’s rights in the broader human rights and legal discourse of continental Europe. Recommendations to service providers working with queer migrant communities are provided.

Keywords: migrant crisis, LGBT migrants, LGBT refugees, Serbia, migrant services, accommodations