The preparation process in practice

6.2.1 Getting to know the client and the case

The NGOs usually have a set approach when helping a previously rejected LGBTI asylum seeker prepare for a repeated claim. When an NGO worker is assigned to a new client’s case, they become their ‘contact person.’ Soon after this is decided, the NGO worker will contact their client to set up a first meeting to get to know each other. In this meeting, they discuss the previous

procedures a client has had. Together, they establish whether a client wants to try another asylum claim, and the NGO worker explains how the NGO can help them prepare for it. They also discuss other needs the client might have, such as shelter or medical help. Lastly, the applicant signs a form that allows the NGO worker to request their case file at the IND. Some NGOs first request and read the case file before meeting with a client because they feel this prepares them better for the first meeting.

The IND has a case file for every person that has gone through an asylum procedure which contains all reports, documents, and decisions that have been submitted or sent within the person’s previous procedures. Depending on how many procedures someone has had, the file can contain more than a thousand pages. The NGO worker reads and summarizes the file to get an idea about the story of the client and why they have been rejected. The NGO worker also assesses whether they think a repeated claim would have a chance.

The IND describes in their decision to reject a claim which elements they did not believe. If it is decided that they will help a client with a HASA, the NGO worker uses these elements as a starting point to see what they will need to work on with the client to make their claim credible.

This was demonstrated by Eva (social-legal worker, MigrantNetwork):

“You get a casefile, by then someone has been rejected once or twice. What I do then is just comb through the whole file and see where it’s gone wrong and almost always it’s that someone testifies vaguely and in general terms. And then you… I’ll write down like okay where [are they testifying vaguely]? For example, a woman will say, uhm, ‘Well, I had a girlfriend [called] Pietje.’

[Then the IND asks] ‘Okay, what did you like about Pietje?’

‘Well, I liked her and I felt good when I was with Pietje.’

And for the rest [she] doesn’t tell anything. And they ask 10 times […] but nothing comes out. Then you…

You can work with that. Because then you can start investigating with someone like that like okay where did you meet [this girlfriend]?”

As this quote highlights, participants read the file, especially the interview reports, to see what elements of their client’s claim and narrative can be improved. Together with the client, they then make a plan on how to strengthen the next claim, which can include finding evidence, getting declarations from experts and loved ones, and improving the client’s testimony, depending on the client’s needs. The NGO workers emphasized that the whole preparation process is collaborative:

they work together with the client, prioritizing the client’s wishes, well-being, and boundaries. The NGO workers stated that they try not to decide things for the client. If a client does not want to talk about a certain experience, they will respect their wishes, even when the experience would

strengthen their claim.

6.2.2 Working on a client’s story

Once it is decided what the client’s case needs, the NGO worker and the client will start working on strengthening the client’s claim. They try to collect the necessary documents and statements and start discussing the client’s story to clarify and strengthen it. At most organizations, the process takes several months in which the client meets with their NGO contact person once a week or once every two weeks, for around an hour each time. The length of the preparation is dependent on the client and what is necessary in their case, but can often take months. Usually, the NGO workers first try to get all the documents in order and then start meeting in quick succession to practice a client’s story.

The participants stated that if someone has been rejected because their identity (such as nationality or name) was not believed, they try to prove that first. They try to find documents that prove their identity, such as a birth certificate from someone’s country of origin. Some participants believed it is good to get these documents out of the way before asking the client to talk about their

(traumatic) experiences, while others simultaneously collected documents and practiced clients’

stories with them. The order of the process often depended on clients’ needs.

6.2.3 Connecting the client with others

Often, NGO workers connect clients with other relevant support actors, such as medical professionals, lawyers, and LGBTI support organizations. This generally happens simultaneously to the client’s and NGO worker’s meetings. Furthermore, the NGOs aim to ensure that a client’s basic needs, such as shelter and food, are met. The NGO workers stated that giving clients a safe space and the necessary care can help them become calmer and better able to tell their stories.

From participant observation data it emerged that undocumented migrants struggle to access the Dutch (mental) health care system on their own. NGO workers can play a vital role in getting people into the (mental) health care system by clarifying the practitioners’ possibilities to receive compensation or setting up appointments. Especially for traumatized applicants,

psychological treatment can help mitigate trauma-induced stress or a client’s problems with telling their story coherently and consistently in the asylum interview (see also d’Ardenne & Heke, 2014).

Secondly, if a client does not have a lawyer, their NGO contact person can find one. It varied how closely the NGO workers worked together with the lawyer. Some participants described that they see the lawyer as a ‘sparring partner’ during the preparation process, with whom they work together to strengthen a client’s case. Others do the preparation process mostly themselves and then ‘transfer’ the case to a lawyer when a client is ready to start a new procedure. However, they all believed that having a good lawyer can be a crucial factor in improving a client’s chances once they are in the asylum procedure.

Lastly, all NGO workers said they connect their clients to support organizations for LGBTI refugees and migrants. These organizations often organize get-togethers in which LGBTI applicants can meet others in similar situations as theirs, as well as people who already had their asylum claim accepted. In the following quote, Laura (social-legal supervisor, SUM) illustrated the purposes of sending clients to these groups:

“The most important goal for me is that people just come in contact with other people, if that hasn’t happened yet. So… I notice that can be nice for clients. Is often nice. Like, that they can feel at home a bit more. But the other goal is also quite instrumental and that is that there they can, one: learn more about themselves, and two: at some point also can show that they’ve been involved in these groups. And that last part is of course… I personally find it really bullshit because you can easily so to speak be lesbian and not go to [support organizations]. But well, hm? (‘maar ja, hè?’)”

The participants believed these meetings can help clients get a network in the Netherlands and get friends where they feel safe to be themselves. As Laura discussed, they also hoped that these

meetings can help clients with the ‘coming out process’ or with accepting themselves. They believed that it is easier for clients to talk about their feelings and experiences with other LGBTI migrants or refugees with similar life experiences, which they hoped would ultimately help them feel more comfortable testifying at the IND. However, they also pointed out that a more instrumental goal is to get declarations from these organizations to support the asylum claim, which I describe in the next section.

6.2.4 Assembling a casefile

The last part of the preparation process is collecting evidence and supportive documents. In the latest IND working instruction on LGBTI cases, it is stated that the IND must explicitly weigh declarations of ‘third parties’ in their assessment of an applicant’s credibility (IND, 2019).

Furthermore, they weigh medical or other professional reports about an applicant’s ability to testify, as well as other forms of (documental) evidence. The NGO workers work together with the client to collect documental support for their story and create a case file to submit to the IND. These supportive casefiles are especially vital if an NGO worker sees that a client after the preparation process is still not able to testify ‘credibly,’ for example because the client is traumatized or has little education. The participants stated that they then try to substantiate why the client is not able to testify ‘credibly’ with declarations and (medical) reports. Furthermore, these documents and declarations can generally serve as the novum that is necessary for a repeated claim to be taken into consideration by the IND.

Different people could write a declaration as ‘evidence’ of the applicant’s sexuality. LGBTI support groups often write ‘statements of support’ for LGBTI asylum seekers. They write something about the nature of the group, the activities and conversation topics they engage in, and how they have seen a client’s involvement in the group. Furthermore, the NGO workers often encourage the client to ask friends, family, and partners for statements of support. The NGO workers ask partners to describe in detail what activities they do together, how long they have been together, and how they see the applicant.

NGO workers also write a statement of support themselves. My participants varied in how often they had written such a statement, and how confident they felt in writing one. They believed this statement should only contain their own observations about their meetings with the client,

rather than saying anything about the client’s story. Isabel (senior social-legal worker, SUM) highlighted what kind of observations NGO workers want to write:

“Well, short, factual information. [I have written for] two guys who had gotten their claim rejected, who got shelter in their own network but not together. So when they came to me for their preparation, then they also saw each other again for… the first time in weeks for example. So I could very nicely describe the process when they would come in and see each other again and were really happy that they saw each other again after weeks. That’s just what I based my declaration on. Because that makes it a little [more] specific, you know, then it’s not such a standard declaration. You make it a bit personal.”

As demonstrated in the quote, they believed these observations would ideally provide detailed

‘evidence’ for the client’s sexuality, such as how in love they seem with their partner.

If a client receives psychological or medical support, the NGO workers often ask the

practitioner to provide a statement. These statements are especially useful to provide evidence that a client’s inability to testify ‘credibly’ is due to (mental) health issues. However, my participant observation data demonstrates that due to privacy regulations, health care professionals often cannot write the details of the client’s health status in their declarations. They can only provide a diagnosis, which the NGO worker will have to ‘translate’ into what it can mean for their client’s ability to testify.

Lastly, the NGO worker and the client work together to collect documents that might support the client’s story. This can include official documents from the country of origin, for

example, to prove a divorce, pictures of events the client describes, or screenshots of conversations with partners (see also Rechtbank Den Haag, 2021). How these documents can contribute to a client’s credibility was demonstrated by Sophie (social-legal worker, SUM):

I’ve also had clients that have ended up in the hospital because of violence for example. And then I do try to get evidence from the hospital, that someone has been in the hospital after a certain type of violence.

And then… the link to LGBT isn’t directly there, but it does prove one element of what the client has testified, namely, ‘I went to the hospital because of violence.’ And then that contributes to the credibility in general.”

The NGO workers described that they can help contact people in the country of origin to get documents, or with getting these documents translated. At the end of the preparation period, the

NGO worker assesses whether a client is ready to go to the IND. They print out the case file and also send it to the lawyer, who can take over the case during the asylum procedure.