✈️ We are pleased to offer 2-3 travel grants for PhD candidates and marginalized scholars for our SOGIESC in Asylum Conference. Please see our website for more information.
📧 Email us (sogiescconference@abo.fi) after submitting your abstract to be considered.
#SOGIESCinAsylum
Conference host Edda Manga opening the conference
Panelists sitting and discussing on a small stage.
Last Wednesday, our doctoral researcher Malin Ekelund and Project Coordinator Catharina Walldén joined The Anti-gender & Anti-migration Connection conference. We especially valued the dialogue-based format and inspiring exchanges—thank you to Mångkulturellt centrum for hosting!
Hüseyin Ali Kudret speaking in a crowd at a conference.
🎤 Excited for our next keynote for the SOGIESC in Asylum Conference!
👉 Hüseyin Ali Kudret is an independent researcher and human rights advocate specializing in refugee law and SOGIESC rights, working at the intersection of research, advocacy, and practice.
We’re honored to have them join us!
👋 Meet our researchers in Stockholm!
Psych-AID doctoral researchers Malin Ekelund & Catharina Walldén will attend The Anti-gender & Anti-migration Connection – A Nordic dialogue-based conference on April 15.
If you're attending, please come say hi and chat! 💬 #PsychAID
Photograph of Dr. Hedayat Selim.
Excited to share our first keynote for the SOGIESC in Asylum-Conference!
👉Dr. Hedayat Selim is a postdoctoral researcher with Psych-AID at Åbo Akademi University, studying bias and credibility in asylum decisionmaking in SOGIESC-related cases. We're honoured to have her join us.
📢 Abstract submission is now open for the SOGIESC in Asylum Conference!
🗓️ Deadline: April 30
🔗 Submit here: survey.abo.fi/lomakkeet/17...
Share your research and ideas—don’t miss out!
#Conference #CallForPapers #Asylum #SOGIESC #SOGI
🌟 We are delighted to introduce our keynote speakers for our SOGIESC in Asylum-Conference: Hilary Evans Cameron, Lisa Diamond, Ilan Meyer, Hüseyin Ali Kudret, and Hedayat Selim.
Find more information on our website (sites.abo.fi/psych-aid/ps...) — further updates will follow!
📢 Psych-AID is now on Instagram!
The Psych-AID network now has an official Instagram page where you can follow our work and stay up to date on our ongoing data collections.
👉 Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/psychaid_res...
Box-plots of asylum and immigration attitudes.
🔍Beliefs about asylum decisions don’t arise in a vacuum. In our study, broader immigration attitudes shape how people interpret the same asylum system: more lenient attitudes ➡️ too strict; more restrictive ➡️ too lenient.
🔗 Preprint: osf.io/jh5bq/files/...
Greetings from Psych-AID at APLS Reno! 👋
Our PI @janantfolk.bsky.social spoke on the reversed halo effect in refugee decisions, our postdoc Dilhan Töredi on bias in asylum decisions, and our steering member Lorraine Hope gave a keynote on culture, context & memory in interviews.
Great to connect!
People sitting at tables.
Meet our researchers at APLS! 👋
Our PI Jan Antfolk (@janantfolk.bsky.social) and postdoctoral researcher Dilhan Töredi are attending the American Psychology-Law Society Conference in Reno this week.
If you’re there as well, feel free to stop by and say hello — we’d be happy to connect.🤝
📢 Psych-AID is now on Facebook!
The Psych-AID network now has an official Facebook page where you can follow our work and stay updated on our ongoing data collections.
👉 Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/psychaid/!
🎉 Thrilled to announce our international conference on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Asylum Decision-Making!
📍 Turku, Finland | 📅 15–17 Oct 2026
🔎 Find out more and stay updated via our website — details on the program, speakers, and registration coming soon: lnkd.in/dpjR-JvY
📢 New paper alert by Jenny Skrifvars and Julia Korkman!
📑 The paper presents field-based reflections from a training programme for Finnish asylum officials, identifying organisational challenges and their implications for interview practices and well-being.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jrs/...
We’re excited to share that the Psych-AID research team has received funding from the Nordic Gender Fund! 🎉
This support means a great deal to us and enables us to take the next steps in our work. We’re looking forward to what’s ahead — stay tuned for more updates soon!➡️
Black and white picture of doctoral researcher Rasmus Ahlgren.
🎙️ Exciting news from the Psych-AID research network!
Our doctoral researcher Rasmus Ahlgren recently appeared on the “Oikeuspsykologiaa” podcast (Season 3, Episode 5, in Finnish), discussing his work as a doctoral researcher and the goals of the Psych-AID project.
See the link in the comments.
Our doctoral researcher Malin Ekelund joined a panel on credibility in SOGIESC asylum cases at Shaping Tomorrow: Queer Asylum in Europe 🌈, calling for evidence-based evaluation, less subjectivity, and better interviewing & training 🧠✨
Group picture of the workshop participants
Doctoral researcher Malin Ekelund, PI Jan Antfolk, and doctoral researcher Obed Appiah at the workshop.
Last week, our doctoral researchers Malin Ekelund and Obed Appiah, and PI @janantfolk.bsky.social took part in the (Re-)Constructing Credibility in Refugee Status Determination Workshop by @mobileucph.bsky.social. Thanks for having us!✨
Can’t wait for the upcoming special issue! 📖
📣 Upcoming talk alert!
Our doctoral researcher Malin Ekelund will be delivering an insightful talk titled:🎙 “Adjudicating Asylum Claims of Sexual or Gender Minority Applicants”.
🗓️ Date: October 15
🕛 Time: 12:00–13:00 (EET)
🔗 Join here: aboakademi.zoom.us/j/6592539571...
We’re excited to have Anastasiia Valiavko join our team! 🎉 Please welcome Anastasiia, a doctoral researcher studying attitudes toward survivors of sexual violence in the Russia-Ukraine war. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions or opportunities for collaboration!
📢 New pre-print alert by Malin Ekelund, Jenny Skrifvars, Hedayat Selim, and @janantfolk.bsky.social!
📑 The study explores how stereotypes and social perceptions shape credibility assessments in asylum cases involving sexual identity.
Link below!
🔗https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/acwp3_v1
Welcome Siyu Li to the Psych-AID team! 🎉 Siyu joins as a doctoral researcher, working on Avatar Training to help interviewers use better questions & supportive statements. Reach out for collabs!
📢 New paper alert by Hedayat Selim and colleagues!
📑 In Finnish asylum interviews with sexual minority applicants, most questions focused on sexual orientation over persecution risk. More open questions could support fairer decisions.
🔗 lnkd.in/gz-2wPaD
The Psych-AID team is growing! We are happy to welcome Dilhan Töredi as a new postdoctoral researcher in our team. Dilhan will be working on applying an innovative experimental lie paradigm where the ground truth of asylum claims is known.
Psych-AID team members at wine tasting
Psych-AID team members at pizza dinner.
Paintings at an art exhibitions inside a green house
Psych-AID team members sitting outside on a porch.
🍂 Psych-AID kicked off fall in the Turku archipelago! We welcomed our new members with a visit to Nauvoo—exploring Paratiisi (combined winery and art gallery), kayaking, and ending with pizza & board games. We are excited for the season ahead!
We are thrilled to bring back our Meet the Team series to introduce our newly recruited team members! Catharina Walldén has just joined the Psych-AID network as project manager. Aside from these responsibilities, Catharina is also a doctoral researcher in evolutionary psychology.
Some shots from Hedayat Selim's doctoral defence last month. Professor Hilary Evans Cameron (Toronto Metropolitan University) served as opponent, and Prof. @janantfolk.bsky.social as custos. Many congratulations to Dr Selim for this achievement!
🔗https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/193050
Doctoral Researcher Hedayat Selim will publicly defend her doctoral thesis entitled "Psychological aspects in the evaluation of asylum claims based on sexual orientation" this coming Friday, 22 August 2025.
More information below:
🔗 www.abo.fi/en/event/pub...
