I frontlinjebyråkraternas blickfång: En kvalitativ studie av asylsökande hbtqi-personers upplevelser av kontakten med Migrationsverkets frontlinjebyråkrater under asylprocessen

Sammanfattning: Due to the discrimination, and exclusion that LGBTQ-people face as well as the threat of facing criminal charges for engaging in same-sex relations in large parts of the world, many lgbtq-people are seeking refuge, primarily in Europe. Previous studies in Europe and Sweden show that many rejected asylum-cases for lgbtq-people have been due to incorrect credibility assessments. In light of these findings, the following hermeneutic study accentuates the experiences of the group that is most impacted, the lgbtq-people seeking asylum. By employing a qualitative content analysis method, the study specifically examines the asylum-seekers own experiences of encounters with street-level bureaucrats while seeking asylum at the Swedish Migration Agency. It situates these experiences in the institutional context that is provided by the theory on street-level bureaucracy which is juxtaposed to the classical ideal-typical bureaucracy, by Max Weber. Additionally, the study examines the role of street-level bureaucrats themselves in relation to aspects such as discretion, requirements for proof, cultural emphasis, limited resources, and power. The study shows that the asylum-seekers have negative experiences of the street-level bureaucrats, mostly relating to their lack of empathy, knowledge of cultural differences as well as their homonormative approach in credibility assessments, amongst other aspects. The street-level bureaucrats have constrained resources which hinders them from creating a trusting relationship with the clients. Additionally, street-level bureaucrats tend to fulfill the needs of the organization ahead of the clients and seem to adopt a strategy of coping by moving away from the clients. Due to the guidelines surrounding street-level bureaucrats, it’s hard for them to recognize that their assessments of credibility are largely influenced by their own understanding of what credibility means and therefore tend to be more subjective.