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Rainbow Railroad receives over 15,000 LGBTQ+ individuals seeking asylum in Europe in 2023

By Esther Muhozi
On 17 May 2024 at 12:13

Rainbow Railroad, an organization that aids LGBTQ+ individuals, announced that in 2023 it received requests for asylum from over 15,000 people from this community who are seeking refuge in Europe.

The organization notes that this number is steadily increasing as laws criminalizing same-sex relationships become stricter in various countries. In 2022, the number of people who sought asylum in Europe was 9,500.

Kimahli Powell, the Executive Director of Rainbow Railroad, stated that out of the 15,000 individuals who requested asylum in 2023, about 1,500 were from Uganda.

Ella Anthony from Nigeria is one of those who chose to flee due to her sexual orientation. She left Nigeria after being forced into marriage, only to face abuse from her husband once she arrived at his home. This led her to return to her family, who then threatened to imprison her because of her same-sex relationships.

Since Nigeria criminalized same-sex relationships, it has become extremely difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals who face severe persecution, sometimes even death. This situation prompted Ella Anthony and her partner, Doris Ezuruike Chinonso, to seek asylum abroad.

After suffering abuse from her brothers, Anthony attempted suicide. She later paid smugglers to help her and her partner cross into Libya.

Upon arriving in Libya, they paid traffickers to transport them to Italy, where they were granted asylum.

Anthony explains that while life in Italy is not perfect, it is significantly better than in her home country, where being in a same-sex relationship could lead to imprisonment or death.

Current data shows that in 2016, Poland received three asylum seekers from the LGBTQ+ community. Between 2015-2017, Finland received around 500, and Italy received approximately 80 between 2012-2017.


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