1829016 (Refugee)

The applicant, a lesbian and bisexual woman from Ghana, sought a protection visa in Australia. She claimed that in Ghana, same-sex relationships are unlawful and subject to public harassment, verbal abuse, and shame. The applicant stated she maintained a discreet same-sex relationship in Ghana and lived in fear of exposure due to her sexuality, which she believed would ruin her professional career as a government official. She also alleged verbal abuse from her children's grandmother due to her refusal to marry the children's father and her perceived lesbianism. The applicant feared criminal conviction, physical harm, and ostracisation if returned to Ghana.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations. This involved determining if she met the criteria for being a refugee under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which requires a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Alternatively, the Tribunal considered whether she met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), which requires a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal.

The Tribunal considered all evidence, including independent country information regarding LGBTI persons in Ghana, and found the applicant to be an honest and credible witness. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*. The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a).