This article highlights Lesbians Beyond Borders’ project from France, funded by the second cycle of EL*C’s grant-making programme: Lesbians Against Violence (Combating Gender-Based Violence against Lesbians).
Leaving your country because it is no longer safe is not the end of the journey. For many lesbians in exile, it can be the beginning of another difficult chapter: navigating asylum procedures, finding housing, dealing with administrative uncertainty, carrying the effects of past violence and trying to build a new life – often without the community and support systems they once knew.
For Lesbians Beyond Borders, this reality is at the heart of its work.
The network supports lesbians in exile, migrants and refugees in France regardless of their administrative status. Many of its members have experienced multiple and intersecting forms of violence, including lesbophobic violence, before and during their journeys. The organisation’s EL*C-supported project, “Supporting and empowering lesbian survivors of intersectional violence in France,” was designed around a simple principle: support needs to respond to the whole person, not just one part of their situation.
That meant combining psychological care, legal and administrative support, trauma-informed body work and opportunities to rebuild connection and community.
At the centre of the project was psychological support. Over the grant period, members of the network received individual sessions with lesbian therapists. The sessions used a trauma-informed approach, recognising the psychological impact of forced displacement and gender-based violence and the particular pressures faced by people going through asylum procedures.
For some members, another crucial part of the journey was legal support. Lawyers working with the network handled cases involving survivors of intersectional violence, including asylum-related procedures. The network also accompanied asylum seekers in preparing for OFPRA interviews or CNDA hearings (OFPRA interviews and CNDA hearings are the two key stages of the asylum application and appeal process in France) – moments that can be particularly difficult when applicants have to recount experiences of violence and trauma.
This combination of legal and psychological support was deliberate. Getting through an asylum procedure is not simply a matter of filling in forms or preparing legal arguments. For someone who has experienced violence, being asked to revisit those experiences can itself be deeply difficult. Having people around them who understand both the administrative process and the realities of trauma can make that process more manageable.
The project also recognised something else: healing does not happen only through conversation.
Over the course of the project, trauma-informed massage sessions were provided to survivors of intersectional violence, with certified lesbian professionals. The aim was to help participants release stress and anxiety, cope with post-traumatic stress, and reconnect with their bodies after experiences that may have profoundly affected their sense of safety.
And then there was space simply to be together.
Bilingual English-French creative writing workshops gave lesbians a place to write, share experiences and find confidence in their own voices. The workshops were not about producing perfect texts. They were about creating an environment where people’s thoughts, experiences and feelings mattered – and where participants could connect with others who understood something of what they had been through.
A community-building weekend provided another opportunity to step away from administrative procedures and everyday pressures and spend time with others on the network. Discussions, self-care activities, and time together helped strengthen relationships and a sense of belonging.
The results show what a genuinely holistic support system can look like. During the project, lesbians received psychological care, legal assistance, administrative preparation, trauma-informed body work, and opportunities to build community. The network describes this broader approach as contributing not only to safety, but also to greater autonomy, independence, and resilience.
Because someone rebuilds their life in exile, safety is about more than being physically away from danger.
It can mean having someone who understands your legal situation. Having a therapist who understands your experience as a lesbian. Having a community where you do not have to explain why certain things are difficult. Having a space where you can write, talk, rest, laugh, or simply be yourself.
Lesbians Beyond Borders’ project demonstrates that combating gender-based violence can also mean building the conditions in which survivors can regain control over their lives – one form of support, one connection and one step towards autonomy at a time.
NOTE: You can learn more about the results of the first cycle of the EL*C’s Grant-Making Programme by reading this article.