LGBT+ refugee campaigners take part in the Pride in London parade in July, 2019 in London, England. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Barcroft Media via Getty)
An LGBT+ asylum charity says the pandemic has put even more pressure on vulnerable people left isolated, hungry and struggling.
Earlier this year, African Rainbow Family was one of the groups who received funding from Black Lives Matter UK, as it began distributing the £1.2 million in donations it received following widespread protests in summer 2020.
African Rainbow Family is a volunteer-run charity offering urgent support for queer asylum seekers of African heritage and other Black and Asian communities. It was established in 2014 by a lesbian in response to “toxic and draconian” laws in African countries that are in the Commonwealth. In recent years, its work has become ever more crucial.
According to experimental Home Office figures, 1,212 asylum applications on the basis of sexual orientation were lodged in 2019, representing three per cent of all claims. That year, the grant rate for LGB asylum applications was 46 per cent,…
