Stephy and Ash's claim for asylum
Donation protected
Please help two transgender women from Australia, who have been driven to claim humanitarian asylum in Iceland and are in fear for our futures.
As an advocate and activist for lgbtiq rights in Australia, my partner Stephanie McCarthy placed the media spotlight upon the issue of ongoing transphobic and homophobic violence in Sydney. After two years of enduring systematic transphobic abuse, in June 2015 Stephanie was floored by an unprovoked and brutal violent attack. An attack left her traumatised and with permanent spinal injuries. In the weeks following this attack, Stephanie performed groundbreaking work in promoting the issue of transphobic violence across national commercial media platforms.
Subsequently, Stephanie was again violently attacked and left for dead by authorities. To make matters worse she had her court hearing for the June 2015 attack hidden and her attackers walked free. These acts were warnings to her not to continue efforts to make light of Sydney’s violent homophobic streetlife and the NSW police forces long history of abuse of lgbtiq citizens. Since October 2015 Stephanie has been continually harrased and threatened by the NSW police. Escalation of threats towards her and myself as her partner, have forced us to flee from Australia in fear of our lives.
Stephanie and myself left Sydney as soon as we could. We have now formally applied for asylum in Iceland and with it the chance for to live free of violence, intimidation, the threat of death and various other forms of abuse. To get her we have sacrficed our families, our friends, our cat and my life savings. In two weeks time our current accomodation finshes and with our finances dwindling we risk homelessness. Support from the Icelandic government is minimal until our claim for asylum is hopefully granted . This process may take up to eleven months. This means we will have no means of supporting ourselves while our claim is accessed.
Due to this nightmare we are now at the opposite end of the earth, on our own and unsure what the future holds. We ask kindly for support from our peers and graciously accept all offers. We certainly did not ask to take such dramatic actions to ensure our safety and both Stephanie and I feel uncomfortable in asking for help. But the truth is we have been forced into this situation and we need help.
For more information regarding Stephanie’s story please search for her name. It will provide many articles supporting this statement. In regards to the NSW police and why we are scared for our lives, information on this police forces long history of deadly treatement of lgbtiq citizens and employees can be easily found online.
Thank you for your time and hopefully your support,
Ashley Ihasz
As an advocate and activist for lgbtiq rights in Australia, my partner Stephanie McCarthy placed the media spotlight upon the issue of ongoing transphobic and homophobic violence in Sydney. After two years of enduring systematic transphobic abuse, in June 2015 Stephanie was floored by an unprovoked and brutal violent attack. An attack left her traumatised and with permanent spinal injuries. In the weeks following this attack, Stephanie performed groundbreaking work in promoting the issue of transphobic violence across national commercial media platforms.
Subsequently, Stephanie was again violently attacked and left for dead by authorities. To make matters worse she had her court hearing for the June 2015 attack hidden and her attackers walked free. These acts were warnings to her not to continue efforts to make light of Sydney’s violent homophobic streetlife and the NSW police forces long history of abuse of lgbtiq citizens. Since October 2015 Stephanie has been continually harrased and threatened by the NSW police. Escalation of threats towards her and myself as her partner, have forced us to flee from Australia in fear of our lives.
Stephanie and myself left Sydney as soon as we could. We have now formally applied for asylum in Iceland and with it the chance for to live free of violence, intimidation, the threat of death and various other forms of abuse. To get her we have sacrficed our families, our friends, our cat and my life savings. In two weeks time our current accomodation finshes and with our finances dwindling we risk homelessness. Support from the Icelandic government is minimal until our claim for asylum is hopefully granted . This process may take up to eleven months. This means we will have no means of supporting ourselves while our claim is accessed.
Due to this nightmare we are now at the opposite end of the earth, on our own and unsure what the future holds. We ask kindly for support from our peers and graciously accept all offers. We certainly did not ask to take such dramatic actions to ensure our safety and both Stephanie and I feel uncomfortable in asking for help. But the truth is we have been forced into this situation and we need help.
For more information regarding Stephanie’s story please search for her name. It will provide many articles supporting this statement. In regards to the NSW police and why we are scared for our lives, information on this police forces long history of deadly treatement of lgbtiq citizens and employees can be easily found online.
Thank you for your time and hopefully your support,
Ashley Ihasz
Organizer
Ashley Ihász
Organizer
Haymarket NSW
