Please find below the latest edition of Women’s Asylum News.
Claire Bennett
Researcher
Asylum Aid/RWRP
Club Union House
253-254 Upper Street
London N1 1RY
=======
Women’s Asylum News
Refugee Women’s Resource Project @ Asylumaid
Issue Number 79 December 2008/January 2009
*In this issue*
Leading article: New Research Report: ‘Relocation, Relocation – the
Impact of Internal Relocation on women asylum seekers’ p.1-3
RWRP Update: Asylum Rights Watch p.4
Significant Legal Cases: p.4-6
Sector Update p.6
UK Events and Conferences p.7-8
UK news p.8
International news p.9-12
New UK Publications p.12-13
New International Publications p.14-15
If you want to subscribe to this free bulletin, please send your details
to: [log in to unmask] All RWRP/ Asylum Aid publications are
available at: www.asylumaid.org.uk
Please forward any information that you would like to include in the
next edition of WAN to [log in to unmask] by the 4th February 2009.
*RWRP at Asylum Aid launches new research report*
‘Relocation, Relocation – The impact of internal relocation on women
asylum seekers’
In November 2008 RWRP at Asylum Aid launched a new qualitative research
report exploring how the legal principle of internal relocation (or
internal flight alternative (IFA)¹ is applied in UK caselaw. The report
was launched in November 2008 and Human Rights Barrister Kathryn Cronin
presented and discussed key issues around internal relocation.
The project involved interviewing legal representatives and women asylum
seekers to examine the application and appropriateness of internal
relocation for women who have experienced gender based persecution.
In circumstances where non-state agent(s) persecute an applicant and
their ‘well founded fear of persecution’ is perceived to be located in
one area of the country, internal relocation would be considered when
assessing whether the applicant is entitled to refugee status. Internal
relocation is usually relevant to non-state persecution cases based on
the assumption that non-state actors do not have the resources of the
state to find and continue their persecution of that person.
Internal relocation is not explicitly articulated within the 1951
Refugee Convention and only emerged and started to be applied in UK
caselaw from the 1980s. At this time, alongside legal debates regarding
its scope within international law, there was also a notable
international political shift regarding the accessibility of
international protection. From the 1980s onwards, ‘asylum’ and
mechanisms to ‘restrict asylum’ became a key political issue in many
western states. This research report explores the legal framework and
key developments around internal relocation and also places this within
the political context, policy shifts and changes in political and public
rhetoric.
The prominence of internal relocation within UK caselaw is hugely
significant to women asylum seekers as many women’s asylum and human
rights claims are based around gender based persecution committed by
non-state agents. Many women who have experienced or are fleeing
domestic violence, trafficking, FGM, rape and sexual violence, forced
marriage and claims based on people’s sexual orientation for example are
usually affected by this principle. In reality this means a woman who
has experienced gender based persecution may be denied refugee status on
the grounds that she moves (relocates) to another area of her country of
origin and lives away from her persecutor(s). This research report
highlights the difficulties a single, separated, divorced or lesbian
woman (with or without children) would face on her own, with no male or
family protection in a relocation area.
The project consisted of five case studies with women who had all, at
some point been refused international protection on the grounds of
internal relocation. The research discusses their practical
considerations and anxieties around this principle which they believed
placed them in direct risk of future persecution with little (if any)
assurances of protection.
The case studies included:
• A lesbian who had been raped by police officers in Uganda (where
homosexuality is illegal and comes with a mandatory prison sentence).
This woman was denied refugee status on the grounds that if she
relocated to a different town away from the police officers who raped
her she would be safe. This woman was particularly concerned for her
welfare as a lesbian in any town in Uganda.
• A woman who had experienced sexual violence in detention in South
Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. This woman was denied refugee status
on the grounds that she should move to Kinshasa (capital of DRC) where
she had never been and did not speak the local language. She was
particularly worried for her safety in Kinshasa as a single woman.
• A woman (with children) from Yemen who experienced domestic violence
This woman was granted leave to remain (legacy case) but was originally
denied refugee status on the grounds that she could move to a
different city away from her husband and his family. This woman
discussed the realities of internal relocation for a divorced woman in
Lebanon including the fear of losing custody of her children
• A woman from Pakistan who experienced domestic violence This woman has
been denied refugee status on the grounds that she can move to her
parents house in a different city to her ex- husband. This woman
discussed the impracticalities of life for a single woman in Pakistan
and her terror that her ex-husband will find her.
• A group interview with three lesbians from Jamaica. Issue of internal
relocation were pertinent to all three women. The women discussed
where, in such a small island they can relocate to and given the
accepted high levels of violence directed towards lesbians, what
protection they would receive.
The key findings from interviews with legal representatives included:
• How internal relocation is being simplistically applied without
sufficient evidence based analysis. Legal representatives believed that
the complex nature and likelihood of risks for single, separated,
divorced and lesbian women is not being given due consideration and
scrutiny.
• Some UK Border Agency personnel and immigration judges place
significant assumptions on the existence of entities (eg refuges,
shelters and NGOs) without assessing whether such entities can offer the
level of protection assumed.
• The application of internal relocation by the judiciary within UK
caselaw has moved away from the guidelines set out by the UNHCR. This
shift raises significant questions regarding the role of UNHCR’s
international frameworks within the UK.
• The removal of the IAA Gender Guidelines (2000) has had a detrimental
impact on women asylum seekers by restricting debates and limiting the
scope of legal arguments.
The key findings from interviews with women asylum seekers included:
• Women asylum seekers felt internal relocation placed them at direct
risk of further abuse, exploitation and attack. A lack of protection
mechanisms in place, an increased social exposure and an inability to
hide were identified. This questioned whether internal relocation was a
viable alternative to international protection.
• No monitoring and protection instilled a genuine fear regarding what
would happen to women upon return to a new relocation area. Moreover,
the women discussed how the police were not considered agencies of
protection and offered no practical assurance of safety.
• The lesbian case studies questioned the practical realities of being
‘discreet’ about their sexuality as advised by the UK Border Agency and
some immigration judges.
The report concludes with a series of recommendations for the Judicial
Studies Board, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, legal
representatives and the UK Border Agency.
The full report is available to download on Asylum Aid’s website at:
http://www.asylumaid.org.uk/data/files/p
ublications/89/Relocation_Relocation_rese arch_report.pdf
For further information or for a hardcopy of the report, please contact
report author Claire Bennett Email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 0207
354 9631 ex 221
-----
¹ The term internal relocation or Internal Flight Alternative (IFA) or
Internal Protection Alternative are often used interchangeably within
refugee law and refer to the same legal principle
*RWRP Update*
*Asylum Rights Watch*
As part of our work on the Charter of rights of women seeking asylum, we
are collecting evidence of how women asylum seekers are treated in
relation to:
1. the asylum determination system 2. accommodation, support and
healthcare 3. detention and removal
Below are examples of cases we have collected so far. “My husband
claimed asylum in 2004 and I was a dependant. This claim was refused and
an appeal was lodged. Meanwhile, I was suffering domestic violence from
my husband. He removed my name from the application without my
knowledge. The Home Offiice did not write to me concerning this. I only
knew about this through the probation victims support officer where I
was attending some counselling sessions. Anyway I have since made an
application in my own right sighting the domestic violence I have
suffered for a very long time.”
“During 11 days in Yarl's Wood detention centre Bedfordshire I didn't
eat anything because I was terrified; I have never been in jail in my
whole life. Some nurses behave as if I am pretending to be sick. I am
shocked by the way I was treated.”
If you have had recent examples of good or bad practice by the UK Border
Agency (including regional asylum teams, NASS, Immigration Removal
Centres, enforcement) please go to
http://www.asylumaid.org.uk/pages/asylu mrights.html and complete the
survey. Or if you know of someone who has had recent interaction with
the UK Border Agency please encourage them to complete the survey.
*Significant Legal Cases*
PS Sri Lanka²
Tamil woman raped by soldiers
Lord Justice Sedley, who gave the Court of Appeal’s lead judgment in
this case, described the facts as “short and disturbing”. The appellant
was a Tamil woman from the Jaffna Pennisula in Sri Lanka, an area where
the LTTE have long been active. In November 2006 she was raped in her
home, which was also a grocery store by 2 Sri Lankan government soldiers
who used to come to make purchases there. 5 days later one of the
soldiers returned and both of them raped her again. A week later, those
2 soldiers returned again, on this occasions raping her whilst holding
her father at gunpoint so that he might witness the attack. Some while
later the appellant tried to commit suicide by self immolation. She
failed but her father took her to her uncle’s house where she stayed
whilst arrangement were made for her to leave Sri Lanka and come to the
UK. During that time she found out that she was pregnant but then
miscarried or aborted. In the meantime the soldiers had returned to her
home looking for her.
Her application for international protection was refused, but her appeal
allowed by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. The Home Office
successfully appealed that decision and Senior Immigration Judge Gill
set aside the original determination for error of law and then, after
considering the merits, dismissed the appeal. The Court of Appeal
overturned that decision, allowing the appeal, holding that the
appellant was entitled to humanitarian protection. In his view that was
the only conclusion that the evidence allowed and therefore the matter
was not remitted to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal for further
consideration but rather to the Secretary of State.
The Court of Appeal found that the Tribunal had made a number of errors.
The first related to the Senior Immigration Judge’s finding that there
was “no reasonable likelihood” that the soldiers who had raped her would
come to know if she was returned and that therefore she was not at risk.
In doing so the Tribunal either applied the wrong test or applied too
high a test. The test to be applied in assessing risk was that of a
“real risk” on the basis of the facts found. Even if the Senior
Immigration Judge did apply that test, “on the accepted evidence the
only sustainable answer was there was such a risk”.
The second error related to her assessment of the facts and whether the
applicant could be expected to obtain protection from the Sri Lankan
government authorities. The Senior Immigration Judge found that the
offending soldiers had made incursions into the area where the appellant
had lived. However, the Court of Appeal found that the government
soldiers must have been stationed there because of the fact that they
had come to her father’s store more than once for purchases and had then
returned on more than one occasion to commit the rapes, acting with
impunity. There was no material change in the situation in that area
when the Senior Immigration Judge made her findings. She concluded that
even if a risk did exist for the appellant, there was no reason that she
could not seek the protection of the Sri Lankan government authorities.
This conclusion was unsustainable.
By inference, the Court of Appeal found that the Senior Immigration
Judge’s analysis that the appellant had been raped by 3 rogue soldiers,
which equated to being raped by three civilian criminals was mistaken.
The past persecution or serious harm that she suffered therefore proved
the risk that she would again be targeted for rape by rogue soldiers in
her home area. This finding was mandated by common sense and paragraph
339K of the Immigration Rules (transposing the Qualification Directive).
In consequence, the Court ordered that the matter be remitted to the
Home Secretary for consideration of whether the appellant should be
granted refugee status or humanitarian protection. ----
² PS (Sri Lanka) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008]
EWCA Civ 1213
EM Lebanon³ Domestic Violence in Lebanon
The appellant in this case was a Lebanese woman who had experienced
domestic violence, including a miscarriage after an assault by her
husband who did not want her to have a baby. She left him when she
became pregnant a second time, going into hiding in order to avoid her
husband and his family taking the child from her by force. She then
obtained a divorce on the grounds of his violent behaviour. However,
under Lebanese law, once her son was seven years old, she would have to
give up his sole custody to her husband. She therefore fled the country
and sought asylum in the UK with the child.
Her application for asylum and protection on human rights grounds was
refused and her appeals at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and Court
of Appeal were unsuccessful. Her appeal to the House of Lords revolved
around a technical question of human rights law, the appellant having
abandoned her claim to be a refugee.
Her son, now 12 years old, was an interested party in the proceedings
stating that he did not want to be separated from his mother to live
with his father and family who he had never met. The appellant argued
that if she and her son were forced to return to Lebanon, the operation
of Shari’a family law would result in a discriminatory breach of her
right to respect for family life, contravening rights guaranteed by
Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Her case was unlike most Article 8 cases in that the breach of the right
would occur once the appellant and her son were removed to Lebanon,
rather than the family being separated by the act of removal. It could
therefore be described, to use the terminology adopted by the House of
Lords in previous cases, as a “foreign” case.
The technical question the House of Lords had to resolve was the test
that should be adopted in a ‘foreign case’ involving a qualified right
such as Article 8 ECHR. The Court of Appeal had held that the test that
the appellant had to meet was to show a real risk of a “’complete
denial’ or ‘nullification’” of the right in order to prevent her
removal; a test she could not meet. This was to be distinguished from
what the Court of Appeal considered was a lower test, namely a real risk
of a “flagrant denial” or “gross invasion”. The House of Lords
unanimously concluded that the lower threshold of “flagrant denial” or
“gross invasion” would be sufficient as “complete denial”. They
therefore allowed the appellant’s appeal.
The House of Lords was quick to say that their decision did not mean
that Article 8 and 14 ECHR would prevent the removal of any mother and
child to face a system of family law that would automatically award
custody of the child to a father.
Lord Hope found:
“The return of a woman who arrives here with her child simply to escape
from the system of family law of her own country, however objectionable
that system may seem in comparison with our own, will not violate
article 8 read with article 14. Domestic violence and family breakdown
occur in Muslim countries just as they do elsewhere. So the inevitable
result under Shari’a law that the separated mother will lose custody of
her child when he reaches the age of custodial transfer ought, in itself
to make no difference. On a purely pragmatic basis the Contracting
States cannot be expected to return aliens only to a country whose
family law is compatible with the principle of non-discrimination
assumed by the Convention.”
³ EM (Lebanon) (FC) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008]
UKHL 64
*Sector Update*
UK ratifies trafficking convention In December 2008 the UK Government
ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Human
Trafficking. The ratification brings the UK in line with 19 other
Council of Europe members and will become binding from the 1st April 2009.
The Convention includes:
• A new national referral mechanism, providing a nationally agreed
process to help frontline staff identify and support people who have
experienced trafficking
• A 45 day reflection and recovery period and the possibility of one-
year residence permit for victims of trafficking
• Better support for people who have been trafficked and who give
information about their traffickers to the police
Home Secretary Jaqui Smith stated: “Ratifying this convention helps us
build on the existing measures in place in the UK aimed at turning the
tables on traffickers and providing victims with protection, support and
a voice in the criminal justice system”.
For further information on Council of Europe Convention on Action
Against Human Trafficking see: http://www.coe.int/t/dg2/trafficking/camp
aign/Docs/Convntn/default_en.asp
For further information on The UK Human Trafficking Action Plan see:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents /human-traffick-action-plan
*UK Events and Conferences*
Asylum Aid Annual General Meeting 28th January 2009 St James Church, 197
Piccadilly, London,
Asylum Aid’s AGM will take place from 6pm. The evening includes guest
speakers, open discussions and refreshments. The 2008 Asylum Aid Annual
Report will also be launched at this event.
Guest speakers include: John Vine CBE QPM. John Vine took up the new
position of Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency in July last year,
on secondment from his post as Chief Constable of Tayside. John is
committed to establishing good working relationships with asylum and
refugee NGOs
Neil Gerrard MP. Neil Gerrard has a distinguished record of championing
refugee rights, both as a constituency MP and as Chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Asylum and Refugees. Neil is a new Patron at
Asylum Aid
6pm Formal AGM business; 6.30pm Speakers; 8pm Refreshments RSVP to Malak
Bagher-Niakan Tel: 020 7354 9631 or Email: [log in to unmask]
---- Seminar: FGM, Asylum and Refugee Policies in the UK,
FORWARD 30th January 2009, London
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is globally recognised as a human rights
violation and a form of gender-based persecution.
This seminar, which is run as part of a on- going project funding by the
European Commission aims to clarify and assess UK policies and realities
in relation to FGM asylum, refugees and young women.
The seminar will include; • The context of FGM in the UK • An overview
on UK policies and legislation: Asylum and refugee issues • Analysis of
UK government policy on asylum, refugees and young people • Research on
FGM, asylum seekers and young refugees • Refugee and Asylum dispersal
policy: challenges and issues
For further information and to register email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 020 8690 4000
---- Refugee Council Vulnerable Women’s Project Conference
‘Sexual Violence and Refugee Women in the UK’
5th February 2009 Amnesty International Human Rights Centre, London
This conference will cover issues of rape and sexual violence against
refugee and asylum seeking women.
The conference will include presentations and a series of workshops
Key note speakers include: The Right Honourable Harriet Harman MP,
Minister for Women (invited) Donna Covey, Chief Executive, British
Refugee Council
Workshops will cover Best Practice in casework with asylum seeking women
survivors of sexual violence Overcoming the barriers women face in the
asylum process Practical Assistance for Destitute Women: Section Four
and Local Authority Support Advocacy & Campaigning on the issue of
sexual violence against asylum seeking women
For further information and to register email:
[log in to unmask] Please also indicate your choice of
workshop
*UK News*
Woman awarded damages after detention A female asylum seeker who had
been tortured and raped in her country of origin was awarded £38,000 in
compensation for unlawful detention. The woman known as PB, claimed
asylum in December 2006. She informed the Home Office that she was
tortured in her native Cameroon. She was placed in the ‘fast track’
system but her account was considered to be not credible. Her appeal
was also rejected. However in April 2007 the Medical Foundations for the
Care of Victims of Torture medically assessed PB and found her scarring
to be consistent with her accounts of torture
Judge Kenneth Parker QC was critical that the Home Office did not obey
the 2001 Detention Centre Rules whereby it states all detainees should
be medically assessed within 24 hours of being admitted. For Judge
Parker, PB should have been adequately assessed and her scarring should
have been identified before she was placed on the ‘fast track’
programme. This would have led to PB being granted early release from
Yarls Wood detention centre in Bedford.
The judge stated that “detention is stressful for anyone, whatever their
past experienced, but torture survivors are particularly vulnerable to
increased mental illness when detained.” For full article see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/ bucks/herts/7764828.stm
---- Poor accommodation for asylum seekers who have experienced torture
The Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture reveals the housing
conditions many asylum seekers who have experienced tortured are faced
with in the UK. This article discusses the conditions Maria and her two
sons (aged 3 and 6) live in. Maria a female asylum seeker has been
housed in a Home Office approved accommodation managed by a private
landlord. Her accommodation is infested with bugs and rats, the
radiators do not work and there are blood stains on the walls. The
Medical Foundation believes many asylum seekers are being housed in such
conditions and the UK government maybe in breach of international law.
The Home Office rejects these arguments and states: “We're committed to
a fair and compassionate asylum system, which means providing safe and
habitable accommodation to all those seeking refuge...Anyone going
through the asylum process is provided with housing that is compatible
with the European Convention on Human Rights...Our accommodation
providers are subject to regular review and we will take appropriate
steps where there is evidence that standards are not being met." For
full article see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7774973.st m
*International News*
America: call to change rules for women asylum seekers fleeing violence
Human Rights Watch have criticised the United States asylum policy
regarding its treatment of women asylum seekers who have experienced
domestic violence. Currently, the United States has no standard national
policy governing asylum applications from domestic violence survivors.
The US government proposed rules to clarify this issues eight years ago
however the rules were never finalised. This has left wide
interpretations between states. During this time, many women’s cases
have been placed on hold awaiting clarity including a significant test
case that has been on hold for ten years.
Meghan Rhoad, researcher in the women's rights division at Human Rights
Watch states: "In the eight years that these regulations have been
pending, domestic violence survivors have faced uncertain futures and
the US has fallen behind the international community in addressing
gender-based persecution....New regulations are needed to ensure that
the criteria for asylum do not exclude survivors of state-tolerated
domestic violence."
The article appeals for the new Presidential Administration to protect
women asylum seekers fleeing violence as a matter of urgency and to
finalise and apply new rules in line with international standards. For
full article see: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/10/
us-protect-women-fleeing-violence
---- Gender Based Violence Prevention Network website launched
A new website has been established to provide information, resources and
a discussion forum for practitioners and agencies interested in
preventing gender based violence. The website intends to be a ‘one stop
shop’ for information on gender based violence in the Horn, East and
Southern Africa. Facilities include a digital library, thematic working
groups, discussion points, campaigns and research and monitoring materials.
The Gender Based Violence Prevention Network’s activities are
co-ordinated and supported by NGO ‘Raising Voices’ in Uganda and has a
leadership committed consisting of members in Ethiopia, Kenya, South
Africa and Uganda.
For the GBV Prevention Network website: http://www.preventgbvafrica.org/
---- DR Congo: Rape and sexual violence against women The Guardian
reports how rape and sexual violence is commonly used as a means of
torturing and punishing women as apart of the war in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. This article and film footage describes several
incidents of women from the age of one to 90 being subjected to horrific
sexual crimes. This includes forcing sons to have sex with their
mothers and women who have been repeatedly raped so many times they can
barely stand. The film footage is taken in Walungu, eastern Congo, an
area humanitarian aid has not reached and there is no security.
The film which accompanies this article included interviewing 500 women
who had all been raped during the conflict. Many women have born
children from rape, one girl who was 14 had two children conceived
through rape and one woman had her breasts cut off. The article and
film cover how many of the women were abandoned by their families after
they were raped (often in front of their families) and how some women
are now also living with HIV. For many women, their injuries were so
severe they have not stopped bleeding since they were attacked and
permanently have to sit in a basin.
The article also draws attention to how the UK Court of Appeal has
dismissed arguments that it is not safe to return ‘failed’ asylum
seekers to the DRC and forced removals are expected. For full article
and accompanying film see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/de
c/05/congo-rape-testimonies-walungu
---- Mauritania: Child marriage and trafficking This article reports on
the growing trend of children being married off to older men in
Mauritania. This practice was traditionally associated with poor rural
areas; however, child marriage is reportedly a big business in urban
cities with daughters as young as six being married off to wealthy men
from Gulf States. This article highlights the story of one girl who was
sold by her father aged eight and then raped and beaten as she waited to
be introduced to a potential husband in Saudi Arabia.
Although the legal age of marriage in Mauritania is eighteen, child
marriage is common as Islamic codes within Mauritania permits marriage
to children from the age of six. Aminetou Mint Takki, Ministerial
Director for the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Families,
believes there are no government statistics regarding child marriage in
Mauritania. She states “the real rate of such marriages is not known
because most cases are not recorded as official marriages and there are
no official statistics.” For full article see:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Rep ortId=81891
---- The Philippines: Law fails victims of domestic violence This
article highlights the difficulties women who have experienced domestic
violence face in the Philippines where divorce is illegal. The
Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Centre (PNP)
reported a 17% rise in violence against women during 2007 than the
previous year.
The legislative framework and the 2004 Violence Against Women and
Children Act (VAWC) is regarded as part of the problem in the
Philippines. This Act recognises physical abuse as a criminal act
punishable by law. The Act also stipulates that ‘barangay’s’
(equivalent to a restraining order) are available. However in practice,
the Act is hard to implement as an estimated 41,000 barangay’s are in
place. Such large numbers of barangay’s are hard to monitor and train
appropriate personnel on the relevant rules and regulations. The lack
of training has led to some acts of domestic violence being dismissed as
marital disputes. Alongside these logistical difficulties many women
are reluctant to press charges as they do not want their husbands or
father of their children to be imprisoned. Consequently, four years
after the VAWC Act was introduced, there have been no convictions
Mary Alice Rosero, policy development and advocacy division chief of the
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women states “It will
require a total social rehabilitation to change the way people condone
abuse." For full article see: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Rep
ortId=81668
---- Bangladesh: acid attacks still common The Acid Survivors Foundation
(ASF) state acid attacks against women and girls continue in Bangladesh
despite legal campaigns. ASF believe many women and girls,
predominantly under 18 are victim to acid attacks over dowry and land
disputes and refusing to marry certain men. Acid is deliberately thrown
over women to permanently disfigure the women and some are blinded as a
result. Alongside the medical consequences, acid attacks have long-term
psychological effects with some women and girls never recovering from
the trauma.
In 2002 parliament introduced two laws to address acid attacks against
women which included a prison sentence of 3-10 years for the unlicensed
production, import, storage, sale and use of acid. This legislation
appears to have limited success in reducing women’s risk of an acid
attack. ASF state in 2000 and 2001 there was 234 and 349 acid attacks on
women and girls in Bangladesh respectively. In 2006 there were 221 acid
attacks and 192 attacks in 2007. ASF maintain however, only acid
attacks which go to court are recorded and many cases, including the
women and girls from the poorest areas are not reported.
Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka, Mohammad Zillar Rahman calls for a
“distinct monitoring team to control acid use and sale; the fact is that
we do not have one. Normally a mobile court visits specific shops and
issues or renews their licenses. I can’t tell you when the last visit
took place.” Similarly, ASF and other NGO’s call for greater effort to
implement the Act and protect women. For full article see:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Rep ortId=82194
---- Iraq: The Trauma of Rape This article discusses the vulnerability
and abandonment women often face after they have been raped. The
article highlights the story of one woman who was kidnapped, beaten and
raped in Iraq and then fled to become a refugee in Jordan. After her
husband discovered she had been raped he abandoned her and consequently
as she was alone, she became vulnerable to further attacks. A neighbour
recently broke into her apartment and tried to rape her.
Refugees in Jordan often live and work illegally. Imran Riza head of
mission in Jordan for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) states “the lack of legal status does lead to these sorts of
protection issues [and] puts them [women] in very exploitative
situation...[Women] are certainly vulnerable, and much more vulnerable
than others.” Many women who have been raped and abandoned by their
husbands face a life of poverty, fear and isolation in Jordan, often
being too afraid to leave their houses for fear of being arrested by the
Jordanian authorities.
Human Rights organisation MADRE believe the true extent of rape and
violence against women in Iraq and Iraqi refugees is unknown and goes
largely unreported. For full article see:
http://womensphere.wordpress.com/2008
/11/25/rapes-vast-toll-in-iraq-war- remains-largely-ignored/
----
Colombia: sex tourism increasing
The sex tourism industry is increasing with high incidence of adult and
child sexual exploitation in tourist areas of Colombia. This article
discusses how the up-market tourist destination of Cartagena, on
Colombia’s Caribbean coast is dominated by the sex industry at night.
Mayerlin Verqara Perez, who works for Fundación Renacer, a
non-governmental organisation believes that almost every other person on
Cartagena's streets after a certain hour is connected in some way to the
sex trade. Perez states: "It's become a lot worse in the last 10
years... There are more children doing sex work and they're starting
younger." Fabian Cardenas, regional director of Fundación Renacer
estimates 650 children are working in the sex tourism industry. Many of
whom have been coerced by parents and family members. Once part of the
sex industry, sex workers are often given drugs by their pimps as a
mechanism to keep them in the sex industry.
Cartagena is predominantly a poor area and many families have been
displaced due to the armed conflicts within the country by rebel and
parliamentary groups. Statistically, the Caribbean cost of Colombia has
the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS with one in every three women living
with HIV. Ricardo Garcia, UNAIDS country director says many women in
Cartagena are afraid to be tested and myths surrounding HIV still exist.
For example, many sex workers believe that you can tell if somebody is
HIV positive by just looking at them. Moreover, young children working
in the sex industry have a low knowledge HIV and other sexually
transmitted infections and tend to comply with their pimps and clients
demands. For full article see: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Rep
ortId=81528
New Publications – UK
“Am I Safe Yet? Stories of women Seeking Asylum in Britain“
WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together)
WAST Manchester recently published “Am I Safe Yet? - Stories of women
Seeking Asylum in Britain”. This book conveys the first-hand
experiences of nine women asylum seekers (WAST members) and explores why
they fled their countries of origin and the realities they faced being
an asylum seeker in the UK. Through women’s direct accounts, the book
examines issues around breaking enforced gender norms; the politics of
rape; searching for a home and the right to health and support. In
addition, the book highlights the imposed destitution and mental health
conditions many women asylum seekers experience in the UK. The book
concludes with the journey of Farhat Khan, the founding member of WAST
Manchester. She recounts her seven year battle for refugee status in
the UK.
WAST is a self help and self led organisation for women seeking asylum
in the UK. In 2008 WAST was awarded the Emma Humphries Memorial Prize
for its work campaigning on violence against women. WAST Manchester
started in 2005 for women living in Greater Manchester to help each
other take forward their asylum applications and start public campaigns.
Since then, WAST London and Leeds have also been established. WAST
women have experienced torture and persecution, fled domestic and sexual
violence, the threat of honour killing, FGM and faced oppression due to
their sexuality, race or political activity.
WAST Manchester now has approximately 70 members and works across a wide
variety of voluntary and statutory organisations to enable members to
access training, specialist advice, information, volunteer work and
support for their campaigns. WAST Manchester runs a weekly drop in
group to offer support, advice and friendship. WAST also runs workshops
and public talks on issues relating to women asylum seekers and gender
persecution and violence.
For further information about WAST Manchester or to attend meetings
please contact: Email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 0161 833 8835
website www.wast.org.uk. . Address: Ada House, 77 Thompson Street,
Manchester, M4 5FY
To order a copy of the book (£8 plus postage and package) see:
http://www.racearchive.org.uk/publication s/Howtoorderourpublications.htm
---- Supporting disabled refugees and asylum seekers: opportunities for
new approaches
Metropolitan Support Trust/ Refugee Support
This report examines the role of refugee community and mainstream
disability organisations in supporting disabled refugees and asylum
seekers in London.
Apart from in the specific field of mental health, there is a
significant lack of research on disabled asylum seekers and refugees in
the UK. The research identified that disabled asylum seekers and
refugees face particular disadvantage. Experiences of war or torture,
cultural and linguistic differences and a system of rights and
entitlements for immigrants that is complex and increasing restrictive,
means that this population present a very specific set of needs and
experiences.
The research identified that very few mainstream disability
organisations work with disabled refugees and asylum seekers. It is
Refugee Community Organisations who provide a wide range of practical
support to disabled asylum seekers and refugees, as well as offering a
means of engaging with social activities and networks. Whilst disabled
men and women rely on the work of RCOs, women tend to seek support from
women’s RCOs, due to the inaccessibility of male- dominated RCOs.
Additionally disabled women face additional disadvantages, such as
childcare difficulties, particularly when they need to attend appointments.
Noticeably the individual experiences of refugees and asylum seekers
differed significantly when it came to accessing support from social
services. On the whole refugees were reasonably satisfied with the
assistance they received. All of the asylum seekers in the sample who
approached social services for an assessment had experienced great
difficulty in accessing the care they needed. Female asylum seekers
also felt particularly vulnerable asking for assistance with their
children given the precarious nature of their immigration status.
The research included a literature review of relevant policy,
legislation and research, followed by qualitative research with both
service providers and disabled refugees and asylum seekers. In total 51
short, survey-based telephone interviews were carried out initially,
followed by 19 in- depth interviews with Refugee Community and
disability organisations, Citizens Advice bureaux, representatives of
local and central government and specialist solicitors. Semi-structured
interviews were also held with 21 disabled refugees and asylum seekers.
The full research report and executive summary can be downloaded from
the following links:
Full report: http://www.refugeesupport.org.uk/docum
ents/MST_RCU_DisabilityFullReport_1108. pdf Executive Summary
http://www.refugeesupport.org.uk/docum
ents/MST_RCU_DisabilityExecSummary_sc reen_1108.pdf
New Publications – International
Trafficking Cases in USA - Legal issues The American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) has recently published three new
reports as part of the Legal Response to Human Trafficking series. The
publications are produced to ensure legal representatives effectively
represent their clients in complex trafficking cases in America. The
documents aim to provide practical guidance. The three ABA Trafficking
reports are:
• Meeting the Legal Needs of Human Trafficking Victims: An Introduction
for Domestic Violence Attorneys & Advocates
• Meeting the Legal Needs of Child Trafficking Victims: An Introduction
for Children's Attorneys & Advocates
• Human Trafficking Cases: How and Why to Use an Expert Witness
For copies of all reports see: http://www.abanet.org/domviol/tip/ ----
Don’t Turn Your Back on Girls: Sexual Violence against Girls in Haiti
Amnesty International AMR/36/004/2008
This report exposes widespread levels of sexual violence experienced by
women and girls in Haiti from members of their family and the wider
community. The research reveals that younger girls appear to be
increasingly targeted and many rapes are reported during the run up to
carnivals. For example, in 2007, 50 rapes were reported in 3 days in
Port-au-Prince. Gangs of armed men committing acts of rape and sexual
violence are also extremely common. This particular form of sexual
violence intensified during the military rule in the 1990s and during
and after the armed rebellion (2004). At this time, violent rape (often
in front of family members) was frequently used as a political tool to
instil fear and punish supporters of the opposition. This research
reveals women continue to be frequently raped in this brutal way.
The research charts various government interventions to address this
escalating problem of sexual violence and argues how the implementation
of these initiatives has failed to protect women. The report concludes
with various recommendations for the international community, the
government, the judicial authorities and the police to address,
investigate and eliminate sexual violence against women and girls in Haiti.
For full research report see: (this report is also available in French)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/
AMR36/004/2008/en/f8487127-b1a5- 11dd-86b0-
2b2f60629879/amr360042008eng.pdf ----
Darfur: Abductions, Sexual Slavery and Forced Labour The Darfur Consortium
The Darfur Consortium has been collecting information from three states
in Darfur over the last two years. The research reveals that civilians
have been systematically abducted for sexual slavery, forced marriage,
rape and forced labour as part of the conflict in Darfur by government
supported militia. The research involved interviewing people who had
experienced abduction, sexual slavery and forced labour, families of
victims and witnesses. The majority of abductions are women and girls
and the length of time held ranges from days to years. One woman was
held captive as a domestic and sexual slave for nearly two years. The
report also highlights how many women are forced to marry militia men
and some women are sold as ‘wives’ to men they have never met in Khartoum.
The report criticises the Sudanese government for failing to protect its
civilians from serious human rights violations committed by government
forces and militias the government supports. To date, there has not
been any conviction for abductions or associated rape and abuse in Darfur.
The report concludes by demanding the government disarm the janjaweed,
the Popular Defence Forces and other militia in order to cooperate with
the United Nations and the African Union. The report also calls for a
judicial system which ends the impunity perpetrators of human rights
violations have enjoyed as well as for national laws and policies to be
in line with international human rights standards that have been
ratified. For full research report see:
http://www.crin.org/docs/Abductions_sex
ual_slavery_and_forced_labour_in_Darfur _final..pdf
So Much to Fear – War Crimes and the devastation of Somalia Human Rights
Watch
This research charts the impact of war upon the civilian population in
Somalia. The report documents civilian deaths and the destruction of
Mogadishu, human rights abuses, attacks on humanitarian workers and
civil rights activists and abuses of refugees and displaced people. The
research highlights how civilians are at risk of rape, assault and
killings by the Transitional Federal Government Forces (TFG), Ethiopian
Military Forces and Insurgent Forces. Women and girls are particularly
vulnerable for being targeted, attacked and violently raped. This
includes women and girls being raped during routine house-to-house
searches by the TFG and Ethiopian Military Forces soldiers repeatedly
raping women in front of their children.
The reports recommendations include urgently addressing the growing
incidents of gender and sexual based violence experienced by women and
girls. Currently, there is limited essential health care or any form of
psychological support available to help women deal with the level of
trauma and social stigma experienced. Furthermore, there is no justice
for women as the report documents how one 14 year old girl was publicly
stoned to death for adultery after reporting being raped by three men
(October 2008). Other specific recommendations for the Transitional
Federal Government of Somalia, the Alliance and Re-Liberation of
Somalia, insurgent groups, the government of Ethiopia, the UN and the
international community are discussed. For full research report see:
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/rep orts/somalia1208web.pdf
Produced by RWRP (for more information on this issue, please contact:
Claire Bennett) Asylum Aid, Club Union House 253-254 Upper Street London
N1 1RY Tel: 020 7354 9631 Fax: 020 7354 5620 Email:
[log in to unmask] Website: www.asylumaid.org.uk
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