Doline* is a transgender woman who fled her home country a year ago and sought protection in Cyprus from persecution due to her gender identity. © UNHCR Cyprus
On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, UNHCR met with Doline*, a transgender woman in her twenties from a West African country who sought refuge in Cyprus a year ago. She spoke about the violence and discrimination she has endured because of her gender identity and called for acceptance and respect of diversity. The scars on her body are still visible; and so are the scars in her soul. Yet, she does not lose hope and chooses to continue the struggle for a dignified living and respect for who she is.
Doline fled a year ago and sought protection in Cyprus from persecution due to her gender identity. Her country of origin is one of some 70 countries that criminalize homosexuality, with human rights groups reporting that LGBTIQ+ people face daily threats, violence and suspicion, all because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
“I could not dress up as a woman and could not express myself without fear. I was living a double life. I used to go to work dressed as a man but at nights I would transform into a woman,” she says. She was evicted from her parent’s home, sexually harassed, and beaten up many times in the streets. Nevertheless, she had decided to stay and become an activist standing up for the rights of her community; up until a case was filed against her for “practicing homosexuality”. Fearing a prison sentence or even death she decided to leave: “At that time, I realized that I had to leave. I had no other choice.”
In Cyprus, Doline reached out to the UNHCR office for help at the beginning of 2021, indicating that she had been sexually assaulted during her stay at the First Reception Center, Pournara. “I tried to report [the incident] immediately after it happened, but I was not allowed to approach the administration area,” Doline says. She eventually managed, with UNHCR’s assistance, to report the incident to the police.
Meanwhile, UNHCR and the Cyprus Refugee Council liaised with the Social Welfare Services to find safe accommodation for Doline outside the Pournara camp. For the last three months she has been living at a hotel where vulnerable asylum-seekers are temporarily hosted, following a referral by the Social Welfare Services.
“I feel safe here, but I have to leave the hotel,” she told us when we met last week. Since Doline is now working, she has been given a notice to leave the hotel and look for other accommodation. But house owners are reluctant to rent to African asylum-seekers and being transgender adds another layer to the pressing challenge – common to all asylum-seekers – of finding private accommodation. “When they see that I’m a woman, but my papers indicate a man, they don’t want to rent their property to me.”
On a more positive note, Doline is happy that she has found a job. With the assistance of Cyprus Refugee Council under a UNHCR funded project, Doline found a job at a food chain restaurant as a kitchen aid – in one of the sectors asylum-seekers are allowed to work. Over the two months she has been working there, she’s happy to be able to earn her own living. She has even been awarded an employee appreciation certificate for her performance, indicating “Thank you for your Positive Vibes.”
Indeed, Doline chooses to see the positive things in life. While there’s a long way until she’s able to become her real self and be accepted for who she is, she remains hopeful. She hopes to get refugee status and make Cyprus her new home, despite the odds.
“Cyprus gave me safety, work, and medical care. Despite the difficulties, the situation here for me is far better than in my country.”
We asked her if she wanted to send any message to people, as a transgender person and as a survivor of gender-based violence. She said: “Do not judge a person based on their gender. See first what this person can bring to the society. And to other transgender people I would like to say, do not give up and continue life with a positive mind, until you reach your goals. Sometimes you may think your life has come to an end, but don’t give up.”
*Name changed for protection reasons.
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Gender-based violence can include sexual, physical, mental and economic harm inflicted in public or in private. It also includes threats of violence, coercion and manipulation. This can take many forms such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation and so-called ‘honour crimes’. The consequences of gender-based violence are devastating and can have life-long repercussions for survivors. It can even lead to death.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+) persons can face discrimination, persecution and violence because of their gender identity, sometimes on a daily basis. In certain countries, same-sex relationships are criminalized – sometimes punishable by death. Many LGBTIQ+ persons have no choice but to seek refuge elsewhere. But even in countries of asylum, they can face stigma and abuse.
In recent decades, the number of LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum-seekers has risen, with most qualifying as “members of a particular social group” under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines the term ‘refugee,’ outlines their rights and sets out the legal obligations of States to protect them.
UNHCR works to try to protect all LGBTIQ+ refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless people and works with partners to provide inclusive services, protect their rights and identify safe options. We also work with male survivors of sexual violence and survivors with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI) through specialized programming to respond to their specific needs.
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