The immigration process is notoriously tough. The anxiety-inducing waiting times, existential uncertainties, and the deep loneliness that haunts applicants in immigration camps as they await the court’s final decision is all but simple. To have a higher chance of being eligible for asylum in the EU, applicants are first assessed based on their country of origin. Most EU countries maintain a list of "safe countries of origin," and applications from these places are almost always ineligible.
A list like that, of course, cannot account for all the extraordinary circumstances that may push someone to apply for asylum. For example, a country may be deemed safe overall, but internal social issues may make living in that country unsafe for specific groups of people.
One of the countries that faces this particular dilemma is Armenia. Countries such as France, Austria, and the Netherlands1 consider Armenia to be a safe country of origin, making it nearly impossible for its citizens to apply for asylum. This is an issue that particularly strikes a chord with the local LGBTQ+ community. Although Armenia has officially decriminalized homosexuality in 2003, this minimal step—without legalizing gay marriage or providing accessible transgender healthcare—suggests that openly queer people are at the very least, safe from punity.
Unfortunately, the situation for the local queer population is more complicated than that. Armenia has repeatedly failed to enact anti-discrimination laws that specifically protect LGBTQ+ individuals. In a country where queerphobia is rampant, queer individuals are unable to live their authentic lives and remain to be a vulnerable group.
The ambivalent legal situation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community in Armenia complicates the assessment of crimes against queer individuals. Many targeted violations are not classified as hate crimes, which erases a potential systemic issue.
To gain a better understanding of it all, it is essential to look beyond the paperwork and listen to the lived experiences of queer people in the country.
Tegran, who has been living in Armenia for the past a year and a half, graciously shared her experiences as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and as a volunteer for queer NGOs like Pink Armenia and DiverCity. She recounts all the extra security measures that queer NGOs take to ensure the safety of their volunteers and attendees. It is forbidden to stay in the office with less than two people present, and everyone must leave before the sun sets. When organizing public events, the location is sent out privately to the guests in case anyone who wishes to do harm upon queer people is looking. Tegran’s stories made it increasingly clear that a large portion of harassment that queer people face arises from private people and groups. Specifically, there are non-centralized groups that use their Telegram channels to doxx queer individuals by sharing their photos, disclosing their sexuality and encouraging hate towards them. Tegran tells that this type of online harassment lead to two suicides last year.
One of the cases highlighted in the 2023 report on LGBTQ+ rights violations published by Pink Armenia recounts the tragic story of a 17-year-old who took his own life after his personal information, photos, and sexual orientation were disseminated by a Telegram channel. The child was already suffering from domestic abuse for his sexuality and unmasculine appearance, but after the circulation of the photos through Telegram, the parents evicted him and he was subsequently fired from his job.
And the report is full of cases like this, telling a similar story of a family member subjecting the victim to verbal, psychological, and physical abuse. The victims are kicked, beaten with a belt, or, in some cases, threatened by a knife. Oftentimes, family members would disclose their intentions to harm or even kill the victim, their friends, and partners. Some victims have been forcibly confined within their homes, with reports of parents confiscating their documents, money, and physically locking them inside their rooms.
The concerning number of domestic abuse cases demonstrates the extent to which the negative outlook towards queer people permeates Armenian society. It penetrates into the home, severing familial bonds and creating an unsafe environment for the victims. Tegran mentions that, just as it was in the case of the 17 year old, a common result of parents finding out about their children’s sexuality is kicking them out, leaving them to live on the streets and potentially take up a dangerous profession such as prostitution.
The dangers outside can be just as severe as those within abusive homes. The report has cited a great deal of cases where individuals were targeted simply for their unconventional look. Victims often found themselves being followed, threatened, or even physically assaulted. One incident describes a man pursuing a victim into the subway and ultimately punching them due to their gender non-conforming appearance. Similarly, the report describes a situation where a transgender woman and her partner endured verbal and physical harassment by a group of men due to their gender and sexual identity. The assailants hurled hateful insults and threw glass bottles at the victims. Tegran also recounted several personal experiences of street harassment, including derogatory comments for wearing a skirt and instances of physical threats and altercations. She tells of an incident where she managed to escape a group of homophobes attempting to attack her, but her friend unfortunately suffered a broken nose after being assaulted for wearing an earring.
Numerous cases in the report concluded with the victim either refusing to report the crime or withdrawing from the proceedings. Tegran explained that there is a wide mistrust in the police and the justice system among queer people. She noted that more often than not, the police will dismiss a queer person’s case due to their own homophobia. But even if a case is accepted, it is unlikely to result in any justice. Experiences like these can be physically and morally draining, and even traumatic. The negligence of the police becomes one of the mechanisms to ostracize queer people by discouraging them from contacting the authorities to seek justice and live their lives safely.
The careless attitude of the law enforcement is not the only hurdle to the safety of LGBTQ+ people. In fact, the police themselves are often the perpetrators of the abuse against queer individuals. Tegran tells a story of being harassed by the police for wearing a rainbow pride flag at a protest. Although the police were present to ensure the safety of the protest, they made it clear that not everyone deserves to be protected. Luckily, Tegran managed to leave the situation unscathed. But that is not always the case. The report presents an alarming number of cases where the police mocks the victim, invades their privacy by looking through their phones, holds them in custody for unfounded reasons, harasses them through sexually inappropriate comments, and sometimes even threatening rape. One case recites an unwarranted arrest of a lesbian woman after a group of masked officers raided a club known for its LGBTQ+ and alternative clientele. While the raid was conducted due to a suspected drug sale, the officers, upon learning of the victim’s sexuality, went through her phone and read her private conversations with her partner. The police then sexually harassed the victim by asking her explicit questions about her sex life. In a similar vein, a gay man was harassed by two patrol officers when walking on the street. His feminine appearance was an indicator of his sexuality, and the police threatened rape to the man by remarking that they wanted to fuck him.
After experiencing such incidents, or even hearing about them, it is clear why the queer community is wary of the police. How can anyone expect to be protected by law enforcement when they are the ones from whom protection is needed? This behavior from the police creates a self-feeding cycle in that in order to report this abuse, the victim must deal with the police again. Tegran also notes that in attempts to investigate the police, the victims could put a target on their back due to the high corruption rates in the Armenian law enforcement. This could result in the victim getting threatened or even killed.
In addition to the mistrust of the police, the judicial system fails to inspire confidence as well. The report describes a case of a gay man filing a complaint after he was beaten by his family members. The case was eventually dismissed on the grounds that the family members believed that they were curing him of a “sick phenomenon”. The report warns that such negligence of the state results in the victims being discouraged to seek help if they fall victim to another crime. Tegran confirms, saying that queerphobia exists on all institutional, educational, and even medical levels, making it harder to access appropriate help. Queer people are at risk of ridicule or even harassment from state agents, and there are no laws in place that would protect queer people from such treatment.
All of this can have a profound effect of marginalizing queer people. Besides the psychological isolation of having to choose between denying a core part of your existence and living your life safely, the dangers that LGBTQ+ individuals face also contributes to social isolation. People may avoid going certain places or expressing certain identity markers for other queer people to identify with. Tegran explains that it is already hard to find a community for queer people, especially those who are newly in the city (Yerevan) or freshly out of the closet. She explains that there are no openly public spaces for queer people to go and meet other queer people, so it can be a daunting task to even start searching for a community. Many people are also, she says, simply afraid of looking for these places and communities as they risk being outed and harassed.
It appears that the failure of the state to enact protective laws for LGBTQ+ individuals is not simply an oversight, but a part of a mechanism which serves to continue marginalizing sexual minorities. Queer people are often left in vulnerable situations, which can result in them living in precarious conditions and thus prevents them from living a healthy life. In the face of such issues, the decriminalization of homosexuality reads as a farce. Queer people are still punished for who they are. The threads of various apparatuses—social, legal, and medical—weave together a tapestry of repression that continually pushes queer individuals into the margins.
LGBTQ+ Armenians face additional challenges in their chances of immigration due to the decriminalization of homosexuality in the penal code. However, as we have seen, lived experiences reveal that law enforcement circumvents this change, creating an unsafe environment for queer people. Queer Armenians are caught in a limbo, unprotected by their own state and marginalized in their society, yet not 'marginalized enough' to qualify for asylum.
Comments