Experimenting with Credibility in Refugee Adjudication: Gaydar

9:1 Canadian Journal of Human Rights 1, 2020

34 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2020

See all articles by Sean Rehaag

Sean Rehaag

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Hilary Evans Cameron

Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University

Date Written: July 19, 2020

Abstract

Canada offers refugee protection to sexual minorities facing persecution abroad. While success rates for sexual minority refugee claims have generally been higher than the overall average at Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, hundreds of such claims are nonetheless turned down each year. The most common reason for denying these claims is that assertions about the claimants’ sexual orientations are determined not to be credible. Scholars have raised concerns about how such credibility determinations are made. This article contributes to the critical literature in this area by exploring sexual minority refugee claim credibility assessments through an experimental study involving simulated refugee determinations. The experiment focuses on whether a claimant’s appearance affects the simulated adjudicator’s credibility determinations and written reasons provided to justify those determinations.

Keywords: Refugee, Asylum, Sexual Minorities, LGBTQ, Gender, Sexuality, Credibility, Evidence, Fact-Finding, Gaydar, Experimental, Refugee Law, Canada, Administrative Law

Suggested Citation

Rehaag, Sean and Evans Cameron, Hilary, Experimenting with Credibility in Refugee Adjudication: Gaydar (July 19, 2020). 9:1 Canadian Journal of Human Rights 1, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3655684

Sean Rehaag (Contact Author)

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/rehaag-sean/

Hilary Evans Cameron

Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University ( email )

350 Victoria St
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3
Canada

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