As a country of asylum, South Africa does not practise encampment but rather a system of local integration, meaning that asylum seekers experience freedom of movement. In recent years, owing to changes in asylum policy in South Africa, moving to Cape Town has become difficult if not impossible for transgender asylum seekers. Without shelter or community support, transgender asylum seekers are forced to stay with country-of-origin communities. They certainly have assisted and supported transgender asylum seekers, and continue to do so, but asylum is not a focal point of their advocacy or work. For transgender asylum seekers like Isobel, returning home is simply not an option.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 23, 2020 06:00 UTC