Particularly vulnerable. Negotiating intersections within the ‘Berlin model’ of queer refugee support

Rieke Schröder

Zusammenfassung

Since 2015, the ‘Berlin model for support of LGBTI refugees’ organises funding and support for those individuals coming to Berlin because they are fleeing persecution due to their sexuality and/or gender identity. This article explores how this support landscape in Berlin is negotiated by refugees and support organisations by drawing on semi-structured interviews with refugees, volunteers, and employees. Thereby, it contributes to the growing body of research on queer refugee support, highlighting the need to take an intersectional lens when offering support, and remaining aware of normative structures. To do so, the article builds on previous work on queer spaces in Berlin as ‘queer regenerations’. While including some queer subjects, this way of ‘queer inclusion’ further adds to the othering of racialised subjects. The ‘Berlin model’ is built upon the premise that queer refugees are ‘particularly vulnerable’, which risks perceiving queer refugees as a homogeneous group. While Berlin offers significant resources, its spaces of refugee support are imbued with racial, classed, and gendered hierarchies. Trans, inter, and non-binary (TIN) refugees, in particular, often encounter exclusion and othering. Presenting experiences within the queer asylum accommodation, the analysis underlines the importance of approaching queer refugees intersectionally. The concept of ‘space invaders’ is applied to underline the ambivalence of belonging for TIN refugees who occupy liminal positions within these spaces.