The Refugee Rights Program team regularly visits LGBTI+ refugees throughout the year and conducts individual case interviews with clients. Provides counseling regarding the obstacles against the refugee and LGBTI+’s in access to the rights and services and provides need-based guidance to the institutions, especially UNHCR. In addition to face-to-face counseling, the program also provides counsel in Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English by phone and mail. The consultancies provided are regularly recorded monthly and reporting activities are carried out in this respect. The detailed scope of legal and social consultancy activities carried out within the program is as follows:
· The social worker provides information to the clients on the asylum procedure, satellite cities, rights and obligations, and sanctions. It directs clients in need of legal support to lawyers and bar associations, especially to Kaos GL's lawyers.
· Directs consultants who request financial support to institutions that provide financial support in the local areas. When necessary, it communicates with agents working in these institutions.
· It directs the clients who contacted Kaos GL on physical and mental health issues to accessible, non-homophobic and non-transphobic hospitals and doctors. If health services are inadequate in different cities, it redirects to the nearest city which is sufficient. It acts together with the clients in the process of making appointments from hospitals. In addition, it contacts UNHCR and local institutions for travel and interpreter support.
· It provides the correct information on trans-transition and hormone therapy processes to the clients. Since there are very few hospitals in Turkey that can handle these processes, it directs them to competent hospitals. When there is no access to hormones, they communicate with the necessary institutions.
· The social worker informs LGBTI refugees who wish to continue their education about the procedure. It directs clients who wish to learn languages to local educational institutions.
· The program provides advice on security/social life and, where necessary, refers for a change of the city of residence.
· Kaos GL helps clients who want to meet LGBTI’s and LGBTI organizations in their city to communicate with activists and LGBTI communities in those cities. It shares information on activities organized in different cities where clients can be integrated.
· It communicates with institutions working with refugees in the cities concerned in order to provide support where translation support is needed.