Gender-based persecution encompasses claims where women and girls face harm because of their gender, including FGM, forced marriage, domestic violence with state protection failures, honour-based violence, and trafficking-related persecution. Women from countries where they face systematic gender-based persecution can constitute a particular social group under the Refugee Convention.
FGM constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights and a form of persecution under Article 9 of the Qualification Directive. Persecution experts address the prevalence of FGM in the specific community, the state's ability and willingness to protect, whether internal relocation provides meaningful protection, and the risk to daughters as well as the appellant.
UNHCR Guidelines on Gender-Related Persecution provide the analytical framework. Expert reports assess whether the specific claim meets the PSG definition, the Convention nexus, state protection analysis, and internal relocation feasibility for gender-based persecution claims.
Related Case Types
Frequently Asked Questions
Are women a particular social group for asylum purposes?
Women from countries where they face systematic gender-based persecution can constitute a particular social group under the Refugee Convention, where they share an immutable characteristic (gender) and are socially distinguished in their society. Persecution experts analyse whether the specific claim meets the PSG definition in the applicable country context.
How does FGM constitute persecution under the Refugee Convention?
FGM constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights, a form of persecution under Article 9 of the Qualification Directive. Persecution experts address the prevalence of FGM in the specific community, the state's ability and willingness to protect, whether internal relocation provides meaningful protection, and the risk to daughters as well as the appellant herself.
