Liselot Casteleyn

Biography

Liselot Casteleyn (she/her) is a doctoral researcher at the Migration Law Research Group (MIGR), and a member of the interfaculty Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR) and the Human Rights Centre (HRC). Using a queer and post-colonial framework, her research focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) rights in the Belgian asylum procedure. Under the supervision of prof. Ellen Desmet and prof. Marlies Casier, she will analyse the complexity of queer migration narratives by considering both the narratives used by SOGI refugees to claim their rights, and those used by the state actors to assess their entitlement to these rights.

She graduated as a Master of Science in Criminology (2017) and a Master in Conflict and Development (2019). Liselot spent one semester of her master studying abroad at the University of Kent in Canterbury. During her studies, she discovered her passion for critical social research, which is reflected in her theses on the demonized Arab-European League and the resilient Kenyan LGBTIQ+ movement.

Before starting her doctoral research, Liselot worked as a scientific researcher at the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP) at the University of Ghent on two short term projects. Later, she had the opportunity to get to know and work for two socially engaged organisations, first as a job counsellor for vzw JES and later as a staff member for HUURpunt vzw.