ASYLUM NOW FOR JACQUELINE N

Jacqueline N. is a 45 year old Lesbian and victim of torture from Uganda who is standing up for freedom and justice; she is currently under threat of deportation back to a nation where gay and Lesbian people are politically persecuted, imprisoned and murdered for being LGBT.

She fights for justice and equality openly and publicly as a member of the Movement for Justice and in various LGBTI groups. Jacqueline has sought asylum in Britain based on her sexuality, but she has received a series of refusals from a system that treats every claimant as a liar and criminal who has to prove that they are not lying. A decision by the British government to return Jacqueline to Uganda is tantamount to a death sentence.

Jacqueline has been in a relationship with another Ugandan Lesbian in Britain for 5 years, but despite this the British government refuses to acknowledge that she is a Lesbian or the reality of what she would face if deported. She was forced into an arranged marriage in Uganda to hide her sexuality. When her sexuality was exposed she was arrested and beaten up by the police, raped and imprisoned. She knows that this would be her future if the Britain deports her back to Uganda.

Jacqueline is living under the constant threat of deportation, never knowing what the next day holds - an especially excruciating experience for LGBT asylum seekers. On the 10th July the Home Office told her she no longer qualifies for support or accommodation. Britain has denied her the fundamental human rights it claims to uphold and has presented her with the alternatives of destitution or deportation.

Last year Britain co-sponsored a Joint Statement on LGBT Rights by 85 countries at the United Nations. It calls on governments like Uganda’s to end the torture of LGBT people, protect their safety and human rights, and stop treating homosexuality as a crime.