Dual Liminality and Violation of Rights: Transgender Asylum Seekers and Access to Institutions, Social Services and Support in Aotearoa New Zealand

<p><strong>Transgender people face criminalisation and persecution in many countries due to legislation and inequitable social norms. This predicament, which leads to experiential and institutional violence, has prompted some transgender people to seek refuge in nations reputed for upholding transgender rights. Aotearoa New Zealand is recognised internationally as a country supportive of transgender rights. While there is a body of literature that examines the challenges facing transgender people in accessing institutions, services and support in Aotearoa New Zealand, there is limited empirical research that focuses on the experiences of transgender asylum seekers. Within global literature, the focus has been on the legal adjudication process, with little exploration of their access to the legal challenges before and after the adjudication process and access to other institutions, services and support.</strong></p><p>Addressing these gaps in the literature, this qualitative study examines the experiences of asylum-seeking by transgender people in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly in terms of institutional access and support. I conducted in-depth interviews with four transgender former asylum seekers and seven members of key non-governmental organisations, as well as a cross-case analysis of 12 legal cases related to asylum seeking. Theoretically, the study draws on aspects of critical race theory, queer theory, and questions around the social construction of ‘illegality’ to understand a unique set of challenges that arise from the intersection between transgender asylum seeker participants’ gender identities and their immigration status. I employ the framework of dual liminality to illustrate how their complex identities lead to the experiences of uncertainty, marginalisation and precarity during and after the asylum-seeking process. This research finds that, in contrast to international literature, transgender claims and evidence are less of a barrier during the asylum adjudication process. Instead, concerns regarding an applicant’s potential burden on healthcare, character assessments, and the country-of-origin requirements may be more pivotal. A significant issue reported by study participants is the lack of access to gender-concordant identification documents, which in turn severely affects their access to institutions, services and support during and after the asylum-seeking process. Due to their intersecting identities as transgender persons and asylum seekers, study findings show that participants experience gaps in policies, discrimination and a lack of awareness among service providers about transgender asylum seekers’ entitlements. Consequently, the support available to transgender asylum seekers in Aotearoa New Zealand may often be minimal and inconsistent, leading to their liminal gender and legal status being perpetuated. These findings illuminate how the international refugee frameworks, local policies and legal frameworks, as well as civil society collectively fail to sufficiently address the needs of transgender asylum seekers, thereby leading to the continuation of rights violations. As a result, this study recommends the introduction of policies and anti-discrimination legislation both at international and local stages to ensure better the rights of transgender asylum seekers in accessing the institutions, social services and support they need. By doing so, Aotearoa New Zealand can legitimately claim its international reputation of being friendly towards transgender people, and international refugee laws can effectively protect transgender asylum seekers.</p>