Universität Bremen, Institut für Interkulturelle und Internationale Studien (InIIS)
Email:
Unicom, Haus 9, Room: Room 9.3280
Affiliated Ph.D. Fellow, Cohort 2023
Research Interests
Gender
Peace and Conflict Studies
Migration Studies
Qualitative Methods
Dissertation topic
Lived realities of lesbian, bisexual and trans (LBT) forced migrant women in Turkey and Lebanon: vulnerabilities, (in)visibility and agency
Dissertation abstract
In recent years, after long being neglected by research and policy-making on gender, conflict and security,
the lived realities of forced migrants with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions,
and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) have slowly gained attention. However, there are shortcomings and
risks involved in their inclusion in the discourse. Much of these debates unfold through a violation-centric
lens, focusing on their vulnerabilities and experiences of violence. On the other hand, they are often
treated as a homogenous group, glossing over intersectional differences in diverse experiences. What is
more, the focus mainly remains on the experiences of men of diverse SOGIESC. This project examines
the lived realities of lesbian, bisexual and trans (LBT) forced migrant women in Turkey and Lebanon,
where a great number of LBT women who are forcibly displaced from their host countries, seek refuge. In
exploring their lived realities, this study specifically focuses on their experiences of vulnerabilities,
(in)visibility and agency. In particular, the study explores how LBT women who are forcibly displaced in
these two countries experience not only different layers of gendered harms and vulnerabilities, but also
how they navigate these vulnerabilities and (in)visibility, and exercise different forms of agency and
actively engage with their experiences in an environment where anti-LGBT and anti-refugee rhetoric is on
the rise.
Academic Supervisors
Philipp Schulz
Klaus Schlichte