An Albanian lesbian couple have won an asylum claim to stay in Britain after successfully arguing that people in their home country are homophobic. Lawyers representing the women, who said they had been targeted after being spotted kissing on the street, said that although being gay was no longer illegal in the Balkan state the “populace” of the country is still “patriarchal, conservative and male-dominated”.
The Home Office argued that what happened to the women in their home towns should “not be a reflection of what the whole of Albania looks like” as even in “tolerant” countries like the UK, there are hate crimes. But this argument was rejected by a judge who has now ruled the women can stay on human rights grounds, as they are “at risk of potential discrimination” if they go back. … The upper immigration tribunal heard that the lesbian couple were also considered trafficking victims because they had been “abducted by masked men in their home town, sexually assaulted by multiple men and subjected to physical and verbal abuse on account of their sexual orientation”. The women said that this happened after they were “observed kissing by their traffickers which resulted in them being captured and detained and assaulted”. Lawyers representing the couple said while their relationship “is not outlawed”, it is “the view of the populace that is important”. …
Continue reading at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/14/lesbian-couple-win-asylum-because-albania-is-homophobic/
Listening to Lesbians 