A Monitoring Guide 127 of liberty of migrants”, the WGAD stated that because they are in situations of vulnerability LGBTI persons must not be detained91, and some States have adopted presumptions against detention that apply either explicitly or implicitly to LGBTI persons. Ongoing screening mechanisms should be in place to identify situations where the safety of LGBTI migrants cannot be guaranteed in detention, or where the detention regime amounts to ill-treatment. In such cases, LGBTI migrants should be released and proper alternatives to detention should be sought. After numerous incidents of violence against LGBT asylum seekers in reception centers in Germany were documented by the Lesbian and Gay Federation of Germany (LSVD), the state government for Berlin classified LGBT refugees as a social group in need of special treatment and protection, in particular with regard to housing. This was followed in 2016 by the opening of a special shelter for 125 LGBT asylum seekers, run by Schwulenberatung Berlin (a counseling center for LGBT people) and staffed with gay- and trans-friendly personnel. Assistance is also provided to ensure that LGBT migrants are able to find housing in the private sector as soon as possible. While Schwulenberatung Berlin recognizes that it would be better to make reception centers safe for LGBT migrants, the current situation and their high exposure to violence calls for a presumption that alternatives are needed to ensure their protection. Furthermore, as part of the state government’s policy, all staff working in reception centers are to receive special trainings on the situation of LGBT asylum seekers. Monitoring checklist Do interviews with asylum seekers and other migrants include vulnerability screenings to identify specific protection needs? Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Revised Deliberation N°5 on the deprivation of liberty of migrants, 7 February 2018, para. 41. 91 Chapter V Good practice Safe shelters for LGBT asylum seekers