Lesbian asylum seekers accuse judges of asking 'insensitive' questions to prove their sexuality Claire Bennett of Southampton has been researching gay immigration Said she found gay women who have faced 'inappropriate' questioning One judge 'asked a lesbian immigration applicant if she uses sex toys' A lesbian from Uganda was asked by a British immigration judge trying to determine if she was actually homosexual whether she had ever read any works by author Oscar Wilde, it emerged today. The woman - from the African nation where it is illegal to be gay - was asked the question, according a university researcher who has interviewed 11 lesbian women from socially-conservative countries. Claire Bennett of the University of Southampton said she had found that gay women from the likes of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jamaica regularly faced "inappropriate and insensitive" questioning. Concerns: Claire Bennett of the University of Southampton said that she found gay women from the likes of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jamaica regularly faced 'inappropriate and insensitive' questioning (file picture) "I thought I was quite unshockable just in terms of how dehumanising criminalising the whole asylum process is," former refugee camp worker Ms Bennett told the Independent. I was wrong. Her research raises concerns over potential ignorance and prejudice among tribunal judges - one of whom is also said to have asked a lesbian immigration applicant whether she uses sex toys. Women she interviewed told her that many questions appeared to presume they had a similar gay lifestyle as somebody would in the West - despite coming from an entirely different culture. A Jamaican woman was told by a judge he did not believe she was gay because "you don't look like a lesbian," and a Pakistani was asked which clubs she attended - despite being a teetotaller Muslim. Dangerous: A copy of Ugandan newspaper the Rolling Stone is held in 2010 after it published the names and photos of 14 men it identified as gay in a country where homosexuality can lead to lengthy jail terms The judges attempt to determine whether the female immigration applicants are actual lesbians or in real risk of persecution in their home countries, reported the Independent. I thought I was quite unshockable just in terms of how dehumanising criminalising the whole asylum process is. I was wrong Claire Bennett, researcher But support groups say around 98 per cent of people applying for asylum claiming persecution because of their sexuality are rejected first time. "They have in their mind this stereotypical woman with short hair and no make-up," one lesbian applicant said, reported the newspaper. Border and immigration officials have certain guidelines for dealing with gay asylum seekers - but there is no similar advice for tribunal judges, according to the Independent.