People who flee persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression (SOGIE) constitute a particularly vulnerable group of migrants in both asylum and integration processes.

During a two-day workshop at the Nordic House in Reykjavik, experts from all of the Scandinavian countries came together to discuss the prospects of researching SOGIE asylum and integration processes, including the mapping of existing data, analyzing relevant policies, examining the role of digital media, and carrying out in-depth interviews with four different stakeholder groups: SOGIE refugees, gatekeepers, advocacy groups, and service providers.

The goal of the workshop was to strengthen our scholarly communities in a way that address challenges of SOGIE asylum and integration at an intra-Nordic level. This was the first time researchers from all the Nordic countries came together to organize qualitative cross-national knowledge about SOGIE refugees in the Nordic region.

The workshop concluded with the formation of QUEE-N (QUEEr refugee research Network), the purpose of which is to sustain Nordic research collaboration on SOGIE refugees. For more information on the network, feel free to contact Thomas Brorsen Smidt.