Refugee Women and Domestic Violence: Country Studies

Refugee Women and Domestic Violence: Country Studies

Description: "This latest report by RWRP was published on 24 September 2001.

The report, which adds significantly to the growing campaign to forefront the issue of domestic violence for women seeking asylum, gives some background information, on the arguments for recognising domestic violence as grounds for protection under the Refugee Convention or the Human Rights Act and goes on to look at the situation for women in five of the main countries of origin of asylum seekers to the UK – Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Iran and Pakistan.

The research aims to enable legal practitioners representing women fleeing domestic violence to realistically assess the strength of a claim for protection under either the Refugee Convention or the Human Rights Act, as well as to raise awareness amongst decision-makers and others involved in the asylum process of the significance of domestic violence for refugee women.

Fifteen countries were initially selected, according to criteria including numbers seeking asylum in the UK, origins and experiences of Asylum Aid’s female clients, and a geographical, religious and political spread; future editions will include the remaining countries as well as updates to the first edition.

Each country report consists of sections on the political and human rights context, particularly in relation to women, international legal instruments, domestic violence and the law, the reality of seeking protection and the situation of separated or divorced women. Examples of relevant case law are quoted where possible.

Two major research reports on Kenyan women
RWRP published 2 substantial reports on the experiences of Kenyan women asylum seekers in February 2001. The first report, No Upright Words, focuses on the experiences of women in Kenya, and the second, Only Crooked Words, on Kenyan women’s experiences as asylum seekers in the UK.

The aims of the research were to document and publicise women’s human rights abuses in Kenya and identify the availability of protection, to review and challenge Home Office decisions on the cases of Kenyan women asylum seekers based on the research evidence, and to provide recommendations and resources for use by Home Office representatives, legal practitioners and other advisers. The research was based upon analysis of written reports on women’s rights in Kenya, published both in Kenya and the UK, analysis of 35 Home Office refusal letters provided by participating legal representatives in order to identify patterns for refusals of Kenyan women cases, and in-depth interviews with 6 Kenyan women asylum seekers who had been refused asylum at first instance, and one interview with a Kenyan refugee.

Widespread abuse of women’s human rights
The research places the experience of Kenyan women within the broader human rights context in the country, where oppression, brutality and violence are not only perpetrated by the state, but are widespread at all levels of society.

In this context, the position of women in Kenya is particularly vulnerable. Traditionally, as well as legally, their rights are restricted whilst they can be subjected to various forms of harassment and brutality at all levels of the society without guarantee of being protected either by traditional institutions, or by the law. As for men in the same situation, women who are involved in opposition politics or members of an ethnic group not known to be supportive of the KANU ruling party are potential victims of police torture and other political forms of persecution, including sexual assault. Moreover women cannot rely on the law or law enforcement agents to protect their rights to freedom of expression, association or their right to be free from persecution either from state agents or family members.

Kenyan women denied asylum
Despite this however, the research also found that the overwhelming majority of Kenyan women who claim asylum in the UK are refused and thus denied any form of protection. Although the statistics made available by the Home Office are not broken down by gender, the overall statistics for Kenyan asylum seekers speak for themselves: Between 1994 and 1999, almost 93% of cases decided were refused asylum or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) at first instance whilst only 1.25% were granted asylum and 5.80% Exceptional Leave. There was a slight improvement in 1999 when 2.90% of cases considered were granted asylum. Over 30% were given Exceptional Leave. The figures for Kenyan women are not expected to be higher, and it is clear from the cases considered by the research, that their claims are rarely taken seriously. The reasons appear to be multifaceted, including procedural factors that reflect a lack of consideration for gender issues, a lack of knowledge or recognition of the gravity of the human rights situation in Kenya, and as far as women are concerned, a lack of understanding of the extent to which Kenyan women are even more deprived of fundamental human rights for social and economical reasons but also simply because of their gender. "

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