Helenelund, ‘How would you define your sexuality?’, 2023

Mia Helenelund, ‘”How would you define your sexuality?” Analyzing the Questions Asked in Asylum Interviews Involving Sexual Minorities’, Master’s thesis in psychology, Åbo Akademi University, 2023

Abstract

In many parts of the world, people are persecuted due to perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI). Asylum applications from SOGI minorities have increased in recent years and are expected to continue rising. It is crucial that the asylum interview is conducted in a way that supports legitimate decision-making and enables fair and accurate assessments of refugee status. Asking appropriate questions is one of the few tools at the interviewer’s disposal to elicit detailed and accurate responses. Until now, questions asked in asylum interviews have only been sparsely studied. Worryingly, no prior study has investigated questions asked from SOGI applicants. In the current study, we analyzed question style, question type and question content in real-life interviews conducted with SOGI applicants. The sample consisted of 129 official asylum cases determined by Finnish state authorities 2014–2019. In accordance with best practice, interviewers mainly used the information-gathering style. However, only one-tenth of all questions were recommended open questions, whereas four-fifths were closed questions. More than half of the questions aimed at assessing credibility of SOGI status, less than one-third were about fear of persecution, and one-seventh were about other reasons for seeking asylum. To assess the credibility of SOGI claims, officials predominantly asked about the applicant’s history of same-sex relationships, feelings about their sexuality and development of sexual identity. To improve current interviewing praxis asylum officials could ask more open questions, avoid accusatory questions altogether and focus more on establishing fear of persecution. Future research should examine how asylum seekers experience and interpret questions concerning SOGI status, to assess which questions elicit most relevant information.