Psych-AID at the Shaping Tomorrow: Queer Asylum in Europe 2025 Conference
Doctoral Researcher Malin Ekelund participated in the Shaping Tomorrow conference held in Amsterdam from 20–21 November 2025. The event, organised by COC Nederland, gathered a diverse group of civil servants, researchers, academics, social workers, activists, legal practitioners, and LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers.
The purpose of the conference was to strengthen protection and support for LGBTIQ+ individuals seeking asylum across Europe, particularly in the context of rapidly changing migration and asylum policies. Participants reflected on how current developments influence the lives and safety of people seeking refuge, and explored ways to respond through knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovative approaches. The programme consisted of workshops, lectures, panel discussions and inspirational sessions, organised across four thematic tracks: 1) Reception and accommodation, 2) NGO support and community responses, 3) Asylum procedures and legal frameworks and 4) Lived experiences and testimonies
Malin presented her research titled “The Effect of Stereotype Congruence on Credibility Assessments of Sexual Minority Asylum Claims: Psychological Mechanisms and Intersectional Influences.”
The study employed an experimental design and examined whether stereotype‑congruent or stereotype‑incongruent information affected credibility assessments of sexual minority asylum seekers. Although the manipulation did not produce the expected stereotype‑based effects, the results revealed an important pattern: participants engaged with and interpreted the same pieces of evidence in systematically different ways. This finding highlights meaningful variation in how decision‑makers reason about credibility, even in the absence of a direct stereotype effect. In addition to her presentation, Malin participated in a panel discussion on credibility assessments, alongside Sabine Jansen, Thomas Wimark, Aino Gröndahl, and Türkan Ertuna Lagrand, with Karen Geertsema serving as moderator.
The slides of the presentation can be found below:
