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53 McGill L. J. 59 (2008)
Patrolling the Borders of Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Refugee Claims in Canada

handle is hein.journals/mcgil53 and id is 65 raw text is: Patrolling the Borders of Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Refugee Claims in Canada Sean Rehaag* Canada's current definition of a refugee includes those facing persecution on account of sexual orientation. This article demonstrates that the success rates for sexual-minority refugee claims are similar to the success rates for traditional refugee claims. However, one subset of sexual-minority refugee claimants, those alleging a fear of persecution on account of bisexuality, is far less successful. The author contends that a major cause of the difficulties bisexual refugee claimants encounter is the dominant understanding of sexual orientation as an innate and immutable personal characteristic. This view of sexual orientation underlies contemporary Canadian sexual-minority refugee law. The life experiences of many bisexual asylum seekers, however, cannot be easily located within such an understanding. This leads many refugee adjudicators to approach accounts of bisexual life narratives with skepticism. Drawing from the tradition of queer theory, the author concludes that refugee adjudicators should embrace an alternative understanding of sexual orientation that can accommodate a multitude of sexual- minority life stories. This understanding views sexual orientation as flexible and fluid. The author presents specific ways in which such an understanding may be applied to decision making regarding sexual-minority refugee claims. All encourage decision makers to focus not on the sexual identity of claimants but rather on evidence of their persecution on account of traditional gender roles and compulsory heterosexuality. Au Canada, la definition d'un rrfugi6 inclut ceux faisant face A la persecution en raison de leur orientation sexuelle. Cet article damontre que les taux de succrs pour ces demandes sont similaires aux taux des demandes ordinaires de statut de rrfugi6. Nranmoins, une sous-catrgorie de demandes d'asile provenant de minoritrs sexuelles, celles fondaes sur la crainte d'etre persecut6 en raison de la bisexualit6, ont beaucoup moins de chance d'etre accueillies favorablement. L'auteur soutient que les difficultrs auxquelles font face les demandeurs de statut de rrfugi bisexuels rrsultent en grande partie de l'idre pr&lominante parmi les arbitres selon laquelle l'orientation sexuelle est innre et est un trait de caractre immuable. Cette vision de l'orientation sexuelle sous-tend le droit canadien contemporain de l'immigration des minoritLs sexuelles. Les experiences de vie vrcues par plusieurs de ces personnes bisexuelles sont toutefois difflicilement comprrhensibles selon cette conception. La situation mane plusieurs arbitres A faire preuve de scepticisme envers les recits de vie des personnes bisexuelles. S'inspirant de la <,th6orie queer>, l'auteur conclut que, dans le contexte du droit de l'immigration, les arbitres devraient adopter une conception alternative de l'orientation sexuelle qui serait en mesure d'accueillir une multitude de r6cits de vie des minorit~s sexuelles. Cette conception caract~iserait l'orientation sexuelle comme flexible et fluide. L'auteur pr~sente des moyens sp6cifiques d'appliquer cette conception aux d6cisions quant aux demandes de statut de r6fugi venant de minorit6s sexuelles. Totes ces m6thodes encouragent les arbitres A mettre l'accent non pas sur l'identit6 sexuelles des demandeurs mais plut6t sur la preuve de leur pers6cution en raison de r6les traditionnels attribu6s aux sexes et d'une h6t~rosexualit& obligatoire. * Sean Rehaag, B.C.L., LL.B (McGill), SJ.D. Candidate (Toronto). This article was written while I was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and at the Canada Research Chair on International Migration Law, Universit6 de Montreal. I would like to thank Frangois Cr~peau, Evan Fox-Decent, Ummni Khan, Julie Lassonde, Robert Leckey, Nicole LaViolette, Audrey Macklin, Viviane Namaste, B.J. Wray, and the anonymous reviewers at the McGill Law Journal for their helpful comments and suggestions. © Sean Rehaag 2008 To be cited as: (2008) 53 McGill L.J. 59 Mode de rrfrrence : (2008) 53 R.D. McGill 59

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