Affiliated Ph.D. Fellow, Cohort 2023

Research Interests
Gender
Peace and Conflict Studies
Migration Studies
Qualitative Methods

Dissertation topic
Lived realities of lesbian, bisexual and trans (LBT) forced migrant women in Turkey and Lebanon: vulnerabilities, (in)visibility and agency

Dissertation abstract
In recent years, after long being neglected by research and policy-making on gender, conflict and security, the lived realities of forced migrants with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) have slowly gained attention. However, there are shortcomings and risks involved in their inclusion in the discourse. Much of these debates unfold through a violation-centric lens, focusing on their vulnerabilities and experiences of violence. On the other hand, they are often treated as a homogenous group, glossing over intersectional differences in diverse experiences. What is more, the focus mainly remains on the experiences of men of diverse SOGIESC. This project examines the lived realities of lesbian, bisexual and trans (LBT) forced migrant women in Turkey and Lebanon, where a great number of LBT women who are forcibly displaced from their host countries, seek refuge. In exploring their lived realities, this study specifically focuses on their experiences of vulnerabilities, (in)visibility and agency. In particular, the study explores how LBT women who are forcibly displaced in these two countries experience not only different layers of gendered harms and vulnerabilities, but also how they navigate these vulnerabilities and (in)visibility, and exercise different forms of agency and actively engage with their experiences in an environment where anti-LGBT and anti-refugee rhetoric is on the rise.

Academic Supervisors
Philipp Schulz
Klaus Schlichte
Gokce Yurdakul