ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on assisting sexual and gender minority asylum seekers (SGMAS) with the construction of the persecution narrative in preparation for their asylum hearings. It illustrates how to do so with the inclusion of a case study and deals with recommendations for future clinical research to facilitate support for SGMAS. The chapter provides readers with a brief overview of the scope of violence against sexual and gender minority individuals and a primer on relevant refugee law. In addition to reconstructing the trauma narrative to prove “well-founded fear of persecution” based upon past events, SGMAS must prove that they are members of a sexual or gender minority group. Supporting SGMAS requires that the social worker be grounded in a number of conceptual, ethical, and practice orientations. The chapter discusses the importance of preparing SGMAS to share their trauma stories related to persecution in their countries of origin.
