Marisa’s story
Fleeing Zimbabwe, Marisa applied for asylum in the UK on the basis that, as a lesbian woman, she would be at risk of persecution and severe physical harm if she was returned there.
Marisa says that she had feelings for girls from a young age, but “ I know that people would say I have a demon if I talked about my sexuality“, so she kept it hidden.
Marisa’s first relationship with a woman began when she was 18, and she found friends in the UK who accepted her. On moving to Sheffield in 2017, she joined Lesbian Asylum Support Sheffield (LASS), a group of women who provided a safe social space and group activities.
So it was a huge blow for Marisa when, although the Judge deciding her appeal claim accepted evidence that she is a lesbian, he ruled that she lived “discreetly” through choice and could therefore do the same in Zimbabwe.
Marisa was baffled, saying: “It really hurt. I didn’t know how much I had to show that I’m not living discreetly. I didn’t know what to do or what it means. How am I supposed to show that?”
Not knowing where to turn, she was assisted by South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice (SYRLJ) to raise a fresh claim for asylum with new evidence to support her claim. SYRLJ were able to secure Marisa a new right of appeal, after which she was referred for help to the Manuel Bravo project in Leeds. She met with Head of Casework, Jack Dingley, who explained clearly everything they would need to do.
Marisa says: “I have seen many different solicitors, but this time, I could understand things much better. He explained what will happen, the truth, the outcomes, what we might expect and how the case might go. I had more appointments with him than I have ever had before with any caseworker.”
Desperate not to return to Zimbabwe and having spent her whole adult life in the UK, Marisa was forced to demonstrate that she lives openly as a gay woman and has organised and attended multiple social events and marches.
She also argued that her gender presentation as a woman who prefers to wear men’s clothes and keep short hair, would mark her out in Zimbabwean society, making it particularly unsafe for her.
Jack spent many weeks helping Marisa assemble detailed submissions. On the eve of her appeal hearing, the Home Office withdrew its objection to her asylum claim, accepting that the tribunal judge had been wrong to find that she lived discreetly, and that there was nowhere safe for her to live in Zimbabwe. Marisa described not having to appear in court as “a really big relief“.
She says: “I wouldn’t have made it without Jack. I don’t know why, but it felt like he wasn’t just doing the case for the sake of it. He was really trying to help.”
Jack says: “Anyone who met Marisa would be able to tell you that the previous decision finding she’d be discreet about her sexuality was wrong, but overcoming a judicial finding like that is hard. I was so pleased to be able to persuade the Home Office to withdraw to save Marisa from the stress of having to go through another court hearing about this issue.”
*name changed for confidentiality reasons
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There are countless people like Marisa stuck in limbo as a result of the UK’s hostile environment, donate now to support Manuel Bravo Project and help address this crisis.
