Gender-related refugee claims: Expanding the scope of the Canadian guidelines

International Journal of Refugee Law

Volumn 19, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 169-214

  LaViolette, Nicole ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GENDER IDENTITY; GUIDELINE; REFUGEE; SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION; WOMENS STATUS;

CANADA; NORTH AMERICA;

EID: 34547946225     PISSN: 09538186     EISSN: 14643715     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/ijrl/eem008     Document Type: Article

References (331)

1. P. (F.V.)(Re), [1991] CRDD No. 1096 (QL).
2. Ibid.
3. Jacquie Miller, 'The Nature of Persecution: Refugee Laws Unclear in Case of Saudi Woman Protesting Restrictions', The Ottawa Citizen, 4 Sept. 1992, A2.
4. P. (F.V.) (Re), n. 1 above.
5. As a result of the outery by feminist non-governmental organizations and human rights organizations, Nada was given permission to stay in Canada in Jan. 1993. See Jacquie Miller, 'Feminist Refugee Can Stay', The Ottawa Citizen, 30 Jan. 1993, A1 and A2;
6. 'Canada Broadens Refugee Claims', The Globe and Mail, 30 Jan. 1993, A6.
7. Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution, (Guidelines issued by the Chairperson of the Board in accordance with subsection 65(3) of the Immigration Act) (Ottawa: 9 Mar. 1993)
8. Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution: Update (Updated version of the Guidelines issued by the Chairperson of the Board in accordance with subsection 65(3) of the Immigration Act) (Ottawa: 25 Nov. 1996) [Guidelines].
9. [1993] 2 SCR 689 [Ward].
10. Guidelines, n. 6 above.
11. 28 July 1951, 189 UNTS 150 (entered into force 22 Apr. 1954) [Convention]. See also Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 31 Jan. 1967, 606 UNTS 267 (entered into force 4 Oct. 1967).
12. S.C. 2001, c.27. The definition of a 'Convention refugee' is as follows:
13. A Convention refugee is a person who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, (a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of each of those countries; or (b) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.
14. Presently, neither the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act nor the Convention cites 'gender' among grounds of persecution.
15. In Rajudeen v. Canada (MEI), (1984), 55 NR 129, at 133-4 (FCA), the Federal Court of Appeal defined persecution as follows: '[t]o harass or afflict with repeated acts of cruelty or annoyance [ ... ] to afflict or punish because of particular opinions [ ... ] a particular course or period of systematic infliction of punishment [ ... ]'. Case law recognizes torture, rape, arbitrary arrest and detention, assault, and repeated harassment as forms of persecution.
16. See especially Chan v. Canada (MEI), (1993), 20 Imm. LR (2d) 181 at 208, [1993] 3 FC 675, 156 NR 279 (FCA), aff'd on other grounds (1995), 128 DLR (4th) 213.
17. See also Thirunavukkarasu v. Canada (MEI), (1993), 109 D.LR (4th) 682 (FCA)
18. Surujpal v. Canada (MEI), (1985),60 NR 73 (FCA).
19. Ward, n. 7 above, at 709. The agents of persecution can be higher authorities of the state as well as subordinates or persons not attached to the government. According to Ward, it must be shown that the state is tolerating the persecution by non-state agents or is incapable of protecting the individual who is the target of the persecution.
20. See Ward, n. 7 above, at 709, 713, 717, 720, 721, LaForest J.
21. See Anders B. Johnsson, 'The International Protection of Women Refugees - A Summary of Principal Problems and Issues', 1 IJRL 221 (1989), at 223.
22. See also Jacqueline Greatbatch, 'The Gender Difference: Feminist Critiques of Refugee Discourse', 1 IJRL 518 (1989), at 525.
23. Switzerland, Bureau federal de l'égalité entre femmes et hommes, Les femmes victimes de persécutions et la notion de réfugié, (Berne: 1992), at 4.
24. See also Felicite Stairs & Lori Pope, 'No Place Like Home: Assaulted Migrant Women's Claims to Refugee Status and Landings on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds' (1990) 6 J. L. & Soc. Pol'y 148, at 163.
25. P(F.V.) (Re), n. 1 above.
26. Kristina Folkelius & Gregor Noll, 'Affirmative Exclusion? Sex, Gender, Persecution and the Reformed Swedish Aliens Act', 10 IJRL 607 (1998), at 611, citing Thomas Spijkerboer.
27. Stairs and Pope, n. 15 above, at 163.
28. See also Rebecca M. Wallace, 'Men, Their Rights and Nothing More; Women, Their Rights and Nothing Less' (1994) 58 Sask. L. Rev. 217 at 219;
29. e Congrès du Conseil canadien de droit international (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), at 73-4.
30. UNHCR Executive Committee, Conclusion No. 39 (XXXVI), 'Refugee Women and International Protection', 1985.
31. UNHCR, 'Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women', UN doc. EC/SCP/ 67 (22 July 1991).
32. For the most recent version of the UNHCR Guidelines, see: UNHCR, Guidelines on International Protection: Gender Related Persecution within the context of Article 1A (2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, UN doc. HCR/GIP/02/ 01 (7 May 2002) [2002 UNHCR Guidelines].
33. Nurjehan Mawani, 'Violations of the Rights of Women in the Refugee Context' (1994) 5 NJCL 61, at 66;
34. Judith Ramirez, 'The Canadian Guidelines On Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution' (1994) 14:7 Refugee 3, at 3;
35. Audrey Macklin, 'A Comparative Analysis of the Canadian, US and Australian Directives on Gender Persecution and Refugee Status' in Doreen Indra (ed.), Engendering Forced Migration (Providence: Berghahn Books, 1999), 272, at 275 ['A Comparative Analysis'].
36. Ramirez, ibid., at 3.
37. Ward, n. 7 above.
38. The three categories are: (1) groups defined by an innate or unchangeable characteristic; (2) groups whose members voluntarily associate for reasons so fundamental to their human dignity that they should not be forced to forsake the association; and (3) groups associated by a former voluntary status, unalterable due to its historical permanence. Ibid., at 739.
39. Ibid.
40. For an analysis of Ward, see Audrey Macklin, 'Canada (Attorney General) v. Ward: A Review Essay', 6 IJRL 362 (1994).
41. The following articles reported on the case of Nada: 'La persécution contre les femmes devrait-elle être prise en compte pour le statut de réfugié?' La Presse [Montreal], 25 Jan. 1993. A4;
42. Linda Hossie, 'For Women, Oppression is Often a Way of Life', The Globe and Mail, 5 Feb. 1993, A15;
43. Estanislao Oziewicz, 'Why a Change of Heart Does Not Change Policy', The Globe and Mail, 5 Feb. 1993, A7;
44. Just to Be a Human Being', The Ottawa Citizen, 4 Sept. 1992, A1;
45. Jacquie Miller, 'Fleeing Persecution: Two Women's Cases at the Heart of the Debate', The Ottawa Citizen, 30 Jan. 1993, A2;
46. Jacquie Miller, 'Minister won't help Saudi 'feminist refugee', The Ottawa Citizen, 9 Sept. 1993, A1.
47. The following reports refer to the situation of women refugee victims of spousal abuse and the efforts made by different groups in support of their cause: Bob Cox, 'Battered Refugee', Le fil de presse de La Presse canadienne, 16 Sept. 1992;
48. Bob Cox, 'Women Refugees', Le fil de presse de La Presse canadienne 17 Sept. 1992;
49. Janet Bagnall,'They can't stay: Abused Women Refused Refuge in Canada', The Gazette [Montreal], 20 Oct. 1992, A3;
50. Estanislao Oziewicz, 'No Plan to Accept Victims of Sex Bias', The Globe and Mail, 16 Jan. 1993, A6;
51. Michelle Landsberg, 'To Valcourt, Raped, Beaten Women Aren't Refugees', The Toronto Star, 19 Jan. 1993, C1;
52. David Scanlan, 'Consider Gender', The Gazette [Montreal], 25 Jan. 1993, C1;
53. Tim Harper, 'Groups Plead Cause of Female Refugees', The Toronto Star 3 Feb. 1993, A10;
54. Janet Bagnall, 'NAC Will Air Conjugal-Violence Cases in Bid to Stop Deportation of Women', The Gazette [Montreal], 25 Feb. 1993, A4;
55. Isabelle Paré, 'En instance de déportation, Maria vit un cauchemar', Le Devoir [Montreal], 5 Mar. 1993, A2;
56. Richard Hétu, 'Moratoire demandé sur l'expulsion de femmes victimes de violence conjugale dans leur pays', La Presse [Montreal], 5 Mar. 1993, A4;
57. Allan Thompson, 'Woman Forced to Leave Six Children in Canada', The Toronto Star, 9 Jan. 1993, A5.
58. In 1993, the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) exposed the case of 14 refugee claimants faced with deportation who feared they would be victims of spousal abuse once they returned to their countries. NAC asked the government to declare a moratorium on the deportation of women who would face abusive situations in countries where the government would not or could not protect them: 'Rebick: Ottawa ne doit plus déporter de femmes menacées de persécution', La Presse [Montreal], 3 Feb. 1993, A8.
59. David Scanlan, 'Woman Wins Deportation Fight', The Calgary Herald, 30 Jan. 1993, A1.
60. Peggy Curran, 'Is Sexual Equality a Universal Value?', The Gazette [Montreal], 15 Feb. 1993, C1.
61. Guidelines, n. 6 above. The Chairperson's authority to issue the Guidelines to assist Board members is provided for in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, n. 10 above, at subsection 159(l)(h).
62. Guidelines, n. 6 above. For a discussion of the omissions that led to a revision of the Guidelines in 1996, see Valerie Oosterveld, 'The Canadian Guidelines on Gender-Related Persecution: An Evaluation', 8, IJRL 569 (1996) ['Canadian Guidelines'].
63. See also Canada, Minutes of Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, June 1995).
64. Valerie Oosterveld, 'Refugee Status for Female Circumcision Fugitives: Building a Canadian Precedent' (1993) 51(2) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 277, at 287.
65. Guidelines, n. 6 above, at 1.
66. '(1) Women who fear persecution on the same Convention grounds, and in similar circumstances, as men [...] (2) Women who fear persecution solely for reasons pertaining to kinship, i.e., because of the status, activities or views of their spouses, parents, and siblings, or other family members [...] (3) Women who fear persecution resulting from certain circumstances of severe discrimination on grounds of gender or acts of violence either by public authorities or at the hands of private citizens from whose actions the state is unwilling or unable to adequately protect the concerned persons [...] (4) Women who fear persecution as the consequence of failing to conform to, or for transgressing, certain gender-discriminating religious or customary laws and practices in their country of origin [...]'. Ibid., at 4-5.
67. Ibid., at 3.
68. Ibid., at 6.
69. Ibid., at 7.
70. With a reference to Ward, the Guidelines define the basis of women as a social group as follows: '[g]ender is an innate characteristic and, therefore, women may form a particular social group within the Convention refugee definition'. Other innate or unchangeable characteristics, such as age, rage, and marital status, may also serve to identify sub-groups of women. Ibid., at 11.
71. Ibid., at 13.
72. 18 Dec. 1979, 1249 UNTS 455 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981).
73. GA Res. 48/104, UN GAOR, 48th Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/48/104 (1994).
74. Guidelines, n. 6 above, at 16.
75. Ibid., at 18.
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid., at 19. It is appropriate that Board members be understanding toward claimants who exhibit patterns of symptoms known as Rape Trauma Syndrome or Battered Woman Syndrome.
78. In such cases, the members must specify in their reasons why they departed from the Guidelines. Audrey Macklin suggests that this procedure encourages Board members to take the Guidelines seriously: Audrey Macklin, 'Refugee Women and the Imperative of Categories' (1995) 17 HRQ213, at 221 ['Imperative'].
79. She also concludes that 'few IRB members explicitly reject the Guidelines in their decisions': A Comparative Analysis', n. 21 above, at 278. In Navaez v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [1995] 2 FC 55 at 62 (TD), the Court reiterated, '[the Guidelines] while not law, are authorized by Immigration Act, subsection 65(3), and are intended to be followed unless circumstances are such that a different analysis is appropriate'.
80. Canadian Guidelines', n. 32 above, at 582.
81. Oosterveld also discusses the concerns refugee advocates had about the non-binding nature of the Guidelines when they were first introduced: Ibid., at 580-3.
82. Dorothy Q. Thomas, Director of the Women's Rights Project of Human Rights Watch, describes the developments in Canada as follows: 'Canada may be leading the world in finally realizing that women suffer violations on the basis of their sex and that the well-founded fear of those violations constitutes grounds for asylum'. Cited in Todd Stewart Schenk, 'A Proposal to Improve the Treatment of Women in Asylum Law: Adding a "Gender" Category to the International Definition of "Refugee"' (1994) 2 Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 301, at 333.
83. Ramirez, n. 21 above, at 3.
84. The US directives explicitly acknowledge the influence of the Canadian Guidelines: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Gender Guidelines - Considerations for Asylum Officers Adjudicating Asylum Claims from Women, 7 IJRL 700 (1995), at 702.
85. New rules relating to, among other things, spousal abuse were proposed in the United States: US, Asylum, and Withholding Definitions, 65 Fed. Reg. 76588 (2000) (to be codified at 8 C.E.R. §208).
86. Austl., Commonwealth, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Refugee and Humanitarian Visa Applicants - Guidelines on Gender Issues for Decision-Makers July 1996), Special Issue IJRL (1997) 195.
87. Nathalia Berkowitz & Catriona Jarvis, Asylum Gender Guidelines (United Kingdom: Immigration Appellate Authority, 2000) [Asylum Gender Guidelines].
88. In Mar. 2004, the Home Office elaborated policy guidelines on gender issues for its caseworkers: Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Asylum policy Instructions: Gender Issues in the Asylum Claim. (Home Office: London, Mar. 2004), online: Home Office 'Asylum Policy Instructions - Gender Issues in the Asylum Claim' [Home Office Guidelines].
89. Norway refugee policy states that gender-based persecution may constitute persecution: State Secretary Kristin øOrmen Johnsen, The New Draft Regulation in Norway, UNC HR Workshop, Oslo Plaza (18 June 2002), online: Kommunal-OG Regionaldepartamentet http://odin.dep.no/odinarkiv/norsk/krd/2002/eng/016081-090022/ dok-bu.html'.
90. Canadian Council for Refugees, Comments on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Immigration and Refugee Board Gender Guidelines (Mar. 2003), online: CCR http://www.web.net/ccr/gendergcom.htm.
91. 'A Comparative Analysis', n. 21 above, at 302.
92. Sherene Razack says: '[t]hat women can now seek asylum from gender-related persecution is perhaps one of the most remarkable achievements in Canadian legal history in this century'. See 'Domestic Violence as Gender Persecution: Policing the Borders of Nation, Race, and Gender' (1995) 8 Revue Femmes et Droit45, at 47.
93. Melanie Randall, on the other hand, is of the view that the Guidelines do have some shortcomings: (2002) 25 Harv. Women's L.J. 281.
94. Margaret Young, Gender related Refugee Claims (Ottawa: Library of Parliament, 1994), at 14.
95. See also 'Imperative', n. 47 above, at 275.
96. Julie-Marie Campbell, Reflections on the Canadian Guidelines on Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution (Master of Laws Thesis, York University, 1997) [not published].
97. Immigration and Refugee Board, Refugee Protection Division, 'Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution' (Ottawa, Mar. 2003).
98. For cases of forced abortions, see Lai v. Canada (MEI), [1994] FCJ. No. 754 (TD) (QL); V95-02063 (22 Apr. 1997) (CRDD); VA0-00592 (21 June 2000) (CRDD).
99. P. (K.W.) (Re), [1993] CRDD No. 41 (QL).
100. Vidhani v. Canada (M.C.I.), [1995] 3 FC 60 (TD).
101. For cases of spousal violence, see Narvaez, n. 47 above.7 See also Diluna v. Canada (MEI), [1995] FCJ. No. 399 (TD) (QL); P. (H.I.) (Re), [1995] CRDD No. 24 (QL); Q.Y.O.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 81 (QL); MAO-03034 (18 Oct. 2000) (CRDD); MAI-03752 et al., (4 jan. 2002) (CRDD); TA0-06676 et al., (4 Mar. 2002) (CRDD). In T97-06758 et al., (3 Feb. 1999) (CRDD), a claimant feared persecution as a consequence of a forced betrothal at the age of 10. See also T99-07761 (27 Sept. 2000) (CRDD); T99-09887 (17 May 2000) (CRDD).
102. See, e.g., Annan v. Canada (M.C.I.), [1995] 3 FC 25 (TD)
103. Samm v. Canada (M.C.I.), [1996] FCJ. No. 566 (TD) (QL); X.J.V (Re), [1996] CRDD No. 15 (QL); MAI-00356 et al., (18 Dec. 200 1) (CRDD); MAI-07929 (13 Mar. 2002) (CRDD).
104. This is true whether the victim is male or female: Chan v. Canada (MEI), [1995] 3 SCR 593;
105. Cheung v. Canada (MEI), [1993] 2 FC 314 (FCA); CRDD V99-03499 (15 Feb. 2002).
106. A young Pakistani rape victim who became pregnant as a result, obtained refugee status in Dec. 1993. Board members recognized the well-founded fear she had of her father, who may have killed her to save the family honour: Y. (M.J.)(Re), [1993] CRDD No. 339 (QL). An Iranian claimant feared abuse for having refused to give up custody of her child at the request of the boy's grandfather, in keeping with Iranian laws: A.I.P.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 102 (QL). A divorced woman of Libyan origin risked losing custody of her son because of laws that were discriminatory against women. She was granted refugee status for this reason: L. (H.X.) (Re), [1993] CRDD No. 259 (QL). A Tanzanian woman opposed polygamy and female circumcision, and obtained asylum in part because of her views in favour of women's rights: M93-08606 (12 May 1996) (CRDD). A Syrian woman who married someone of whom her family disapproved and who met privately with a man who was not a family member was found to have a well-founded fear of persecution: T93-11934 (5july 1994) (CRDD).
107. See, e.g., Fathi Rad v. Canada (SEC), (1994), 77 F.T.R. 41.
108. See also H.F.U.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 40 (QL); V96-02102 et al. (28 May 1999) (CRDD).
109. See U95-04832 (16 Aug. 1996) (CRDD); T99-09129 (13 Mar. 2001) (CRDD); T98-05792 (29 Nov. 1999) (CRDD); U97-03981 (2 Dec. 1998) (CRDD).
110. U92-08151 et al., (2 Sept. 1993) (CRDD).
111. Folkelius & Noll, n. 17 above, at 610;
112. Sari Kouvo, 'Gender Mainstreaming and International Human Rights' in Doris Buss & Ambreena Manji (eds.), International Law: Modern Feminists Approaches (Portland, Oregon: Hart, 2005) 237, at 245.
113. Ibid.
114. Julia Epstein & Kristina Straub (eds.), Body Guards: The Cultural Politics of Gender Ambiguity (New York: Routledge, 1991), at 3.
115. Sylvia Law, 'Homosexuality and the Social Meaning of Gender' (1988) 2 Wis. L. Rev. 187 at 208.
116. Torhild Holth, Implementation of a Gender Perspective in Norwegian Refugee Law (Oslo: Institutt for offentlig rett, Universitetet i Oslo: Unipub, 2004), at 6.
117. Kouvo, n. 71 above, at 247.
118. Pamela Foster, 'The Gender Guidelines: From the Margins to the Centre?' (1999) 19 Canadian Woman Studies 45, at 48. It is, however, necessary to point out that the distinction between the biological notion and the social notion is much more complex than it would first seem, because it presumes that everyone belongs to one of the two biological categories from birth.
119. See generally Judith Butler, Gender Trouble; Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990).
120. For example, transsexual people often feel there is a conflict between their biological sex and their psychological sex. See, e.g., Patience W Crozier, 'Forcing Boys to Be Boys: The Persecution of Gender Non-Conforming Youth' (2001) 21 B.C. Third World L.J. 123. In addition, the distinction presupposes certain fixed cultural norms tied to gender to which men and women should conform. Yet, relations between men and women and social differences related to gender are historically, geographically, and culturally distinct-which indicates that what it means to be a woman or a man changes depending on the times and location.
121. See Victoria Foote, 'Refugee Women as a Particular Social Group: A Reconsideration' (1994) 14:7 Refuge 8, at 11. Furthermore, other factors have an impact on gender relations, such as race, age, social class, religion, and physical and mental capacity.
122. See Razack, n. 57 above, at 87.
123. Cited in Schenk, n. 49 above, at 338.
124. In 'Conceptualizing Private Violence Against Sexual Minorities as Gendered Violence: An International and Comparative Law Perspective' (1997) 60 Alb. L. Rev. 989 at 1006, James D. Wilets says: '[g]endered violence is frequently the consequence of perceived threats to a male dominated societal system by groups that do not conform to the norms appropriate for the continuation of such a system'.
125. Ibid., at 997.
126. Challenges faced by refugee women are broken down into two groups. The first is procedural, giving rise to issues such as how to make it easier for women rape victims to give testimony. See Ninette Kelley, 'Report on the International Consultation on Refugee Women: Geneva, 15-19 Nov. 1988, with particular reference to protection problems', 1 IJRL 234 (1989), at 235.
127. See also Johnsson, n. 14 above, at 49. The second group of challenges relates to the substantive definition of a Convention refugee and involves the extent to which the definition is able to capture the experiences of female victims of persecution.
128. Marian Kennady, 'Gender-Related Persecution and the Adjudication of Asylum Claims: Is a Sixth Category Needed?' (1998) 12 Fla., J. Int'l L. 317, at 320.
129. Solange Marion, Un objectif de reconnaissance pour la femme réfugiée (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, 1991), at 20.
130. Kennady, n. 82 above, at 336.
131. Foster, n. 77 above, at 45-50.
132. See also Foote, n. 77 above, at 9.
133. Jacqueline Castel, 'Rape, Sexual Assault and the Meaning of Persecution', 4 IJRL 39 (1992), at 40, 47.
134. Rebecca M. Wallace, 'Making the Refugee Convention Gender Sensitive: The Canadian Guidelines' (1996) 45 Int'l & Comp. L.Q. 702.
135. Nurjehan Mawani, 'Violations of the Rights of Women in the Refugee Context' (1994) 5 NJCL 61, at 62, n. 1.
136. Law, n. 74 above, at 209: 'The social significance of gender is fabricated to systematically favour men'.
137. Margareth Etienne, 'Addressing Gender-Based Violence in an International Context' (1995) 18 Harv. Women's L.J. 139, at 165.
138. 'Canadian Guidelines', n. 32 above, at 581: 'The IRB Chairperson has directed that written reasons be provided on all decisions under the Guidelines'.
139. The expression 'sexual minority' refers to people whose minority status is a result of either their sexual and emotional activities with partners of the same sex, or their refusal to conform to social roles tied to their biological sex at birth. Thus, the notion of sexual minorities regroups gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people - which includes transsexuals and transvestites.
140. See Amnesty International, Human Rights and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (30 Mar. 2004), online: Amnesty International http://www.amnestyusa.org/outfront/ document.do?id=9F25DB548-B5696C680256E5C00688E96
141. Crimes of Hate, Conspiracy of Silence: Torture and Ill-Treatment Based on Sexual Identity (London: Amnesty International Publications, 2001).
142. For an analysis of sexual orientation and the refugee determination process, see generally Nicole LaViolette,'The Immutable Refugees: Sexual Orientation in Canada (A.G.) v. Ward', (1997) 55 UTLJ 1.
143. Ward, n. 7 above, at 739.
144. LaViolette, n. 94 above, at 22.
145. Simon Levay & Elisabeth Nonas, City of Friends: A Portrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1995).
146. Law, n. 74 above, at 187.
147. Suzanne Goldberg, 'Symposium - Shifting Grounds for Asylum: Female Genital Surgery and Sexual Orientation' (1998) 29 Colum. H.R.L. Rev 467, at 496 ['Symposium'].
148. Razack, n. 57 above, at 87.
149. Law, n. 74 above, at 221.
150. Ibid., at 228.
151. Ibid., at 210.
152. Wilets, n. 79 above, at 992.
153. Ibid., at 1011.
154. Ibid., at 992.
155. Ibid., at 1007.
156. Lynda Peers & lrène Demczuk, 'Lorsque le respect ne suffit pas: intervenir auprès des lesbiennes', in Irène Demczuk (ed.), Des droits à reconnaître: Les lesbiennes face à la discrimination (Montreal: Les éditions du remueménage, 1998), at 83.
157. Wilets, n. 79 above, at 1007.
158. Ibid., at 991.
159. See also 'Symposium', n. 101 above, at 500.
160. Jenni Millbank, 'Gender, Sex and Visibility in Refugee Claims on the Basis of Sexual Orientation' (2003) 18:1 Georgetown Immigration Law, Journal, at 77.
161. Shannon Minter, 'Lesbians and Asylum: Overcoming Barriers to Access' in Sydney Levy (ed.), Asylum Based on Sexual Orientation: A Resource Guide (San Francisco: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Lambda Legal Defence and Education Fund, 1996), at I.B. 5-6.
162. Ibid., at I.B. 6. An Amnesty International report confirms the following: '[t]he imposition of such penalties for same-sex relations must be viewed in the context of the repression of other forms of consensual sexual behaviour which are seen to transgress strict religious or political codes, such as sexual relations between men and women outside marriage. Where gender discrimination is enshrined in law, women accused of any sexual activity outside marriage are particularly at risk of such penalties'. Amnesty International, n. 93 above, at 19.
163. Monique Gauvin, 'La discrimination des lesbiennes en milieu de travail: De l'occultation à la prise de parole', in Demczuk, n. 108 above, 133, at 143.
164. Millbank, n. 111 above, at 77.
165. Minter, n. 112 above, at I.B. 14.
166. Daley, n. 18 above, at 77.
167. See A.(E.C.)(Re), [1993] CRDD No. 238 (QL); M92-08129, 24 Feb. 1994 (CRDD); W(U.K.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 123 (QL); U.Y.O.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 163 (QL); V.L.W.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 112 (QL); C.L.Q. (Re), [1996] CRDD No. 145 (QL); C.D.H.(Re) [1996] CRDD No. 210 (QL); L.J. v. Canada (M.C.I. [1996] FCJ. No. 1042 (TD) (QL); A-98 00286, 13 Aug. 1999 (CISR); Q.U.Q.(Re) [1997] CRDD No. 242 (QL); K.V.R.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 312 (QL); B.D.Q. (Re), [1997] CRDD No. 308 (QL); E.D.F.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 58 (QL); T.Q.B.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 101 (QL); M.R.D.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 164 (QL); L.LR(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 18 (QL); E.K.B.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 175 (QL); P.W.Z.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 47 (QL); P.T.F. (Re, [2000] CRDD No. 117 (QL); D.A.K. (Re), [2000] CRDD No. 338 (QL); Q.D.D.(Re), [2001] CRDD No. 11 (QL); C.U.V.(Re), [2001] CRDD No. 397 (QL); Q.K.K. (Re) [2001] CRDD No. 250 (QL); V.Z.D. (Re), [2001] CRDD No. 37 (QL); G.Y.J. (Re), [2001] CRDD No. 46 (QL); K.R.U (Re), [2002] RPDD No. 165 (QL); W.K.C.(Re), [2003] RPDD No. 233 (QL); K.O.C.(Re), [2003] RPDD No. 420 (QL) (the claimant in this case was a bisexual women); Q.K.T.(Re), [2003] RPDD No. 390 (QL); L.L.L.(Re), [2003] RPDD No. 112 (QL); Montero c. Canada (M.C.I.) [2004] RPDD No. 248 (QL); Sosa Villa v. Canada (M.C.I.), [2004] RPDD No. 169 (QL); V.C.U.(Re), [2004] RPDD No.6 (QL); Ruiz Ruiz v. Canada (M.C.I., [2004] RPDD No. 178 (QL); Saldivar c. Canada (M.C.I.), [2004] RPDD No. 406 (QL); TA2-05237, 14 Mar. 2005 (CRDD).
168. C.L.Q., ibid.; C.D.H., ibid.; Q.U.Q., ibid.; E.K.B. ibid.; P.W.Z., ibid.; Q.K.K., ibid.; V.Z.D., ibid.
169. C.L.Q., ibid. In her study of the Australian gender guidelines and their application to lesbian refugees, Jenni Millbank also concluded that 'there was no reference to the Guidelines on Gender in any of the 42 lesbian claims decided by the Australian tribunal': Millbank, n. 111 above, at 76-7.
170. V.L.W., n. 118 above; M.R.D., n. 118 above.
171. Minter, n. 112 above, at I.B. 13.
172. A.(E. C.), n. 118 above.
173. Ibid.
174. Ibid.
175. Guidelines, n. 6 above, at 9.
176. Millbank, n. 111 above, at 79.
177. See P.T.F., n. 118 above;
178. D.A.K., n. 118 above;
179. G.U.V., n. 118 above;
180. K.R.U., n. 118 above;
181. W.K.C., n. 118 above. However,
182. see V.S.D., n. 118 above for a decision that refers to the Guidelines in relation to the lesbian claimant's allegations of violence by her former spouse.
183. Above, n. 118.
184. Ibid.
185. P.W.Z., n. 118 above.
186. Ibid.
187. Millbank, n. 111 above, at 103.
188. Ibid.
189. Sadeghi Pari v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2004] FCJ. No. 316 (QL).
190. Ibid., at para. 22.
191. Ibid., at para. 19.
192. C.L.Q., n. 118 above.
193. Ibid.
194. Ibid.
195. Ibid.
196. V.S.D., n. 118 above.
197. Ibid.
198. M.R.D.(Re), n. 118 above.
199. Ibid.
200. Daley, n. 18 above, at 78-9.
201. The majority of decisions consulted for this article are published in Quicklaw in the 'CRDD' and 'RPDD' databases. In addition, some unreported decisions were the subject of media coverage and copies of media reports are on file with the author. Because of the large number of decisions, only cases referred to in the text are cited in the footnotes.
202. Minter, n. 112 above.
203. Amnesty International, n. 93 above, at 4.
204. Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Mexico: Treatment of Sexual Minorities (Ottawa: Immigration and Refugee Board, 1999), at 1.
205. Ibid.
206. A similar statement can be made in the case of Asian culture: '[g]ay men are, moreover usually associated with femininity or individuals who enjoy receptive anal intercourse that implies subordinate roles or being conquered. Such notions violate the traditional gender roles that 'men' are superior and which are so essential to many Asian cultures': Maurice Kwong-Lai Poon, 'Inter-Racial Same-sex Abuse: The Vulnerability of Gay Men of Asian Descent in Relationships with Caucasian Men' (2000) 11 Gay & Lesbian Social Services 39, at 43.
207. See Human Rights Watch, 'Saudi Arabia: Men "Behaving Like Women" Face Flogging', 7 Apr. 2005, online: Human Rights Watch http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/07/saudia10434_txt.htm.
208. See also International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Communiqué, 'Alleged Transvestites Sentenced to Brutal Flogging' (20 Apr. 2000), online: IGLHRC http://iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/ section.php?id=5&detail=412 (accessed: 24 Mar. 2001).
209. H. (Y.F.)(Re) [1994] CRDD No. 185 (QL).
210. S.Z.R.(Re), [ 1995] CRDD No. 150 (QL) i S.Z.R.].
211. O.P.K.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 88 (QL).
212. W.R.O.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 284 (QL).
213. Ibid.
214. Valdes v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2004] RPDD No. 140 (QL).
215. Slim v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2004] FCJ. No. 879, at para. 3. The Federal Court held that these comments betrayed a stereotypical and prejudicial view of homosexuals 'and cannot be used to discredit the applicant's stated fear of being persecuted by the Lebanese authorities on the basis of his sexual orientation'.
216. Herrera v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2005] FCJ. No. 1499, at para. 12.
217. N.(L.X.)(Re), [1991] CRDD No. 47 (QL); J.(F.H.), [1993] CRDD No. 98 (QL); H.(Y.N.)(Re), [1994] CRDD No. 13 (QL); S.Z.R., n. 127 above; B.(W.B.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 108 (QL); I.(X. W.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 100 (QL); D(C.J.)(Re, [1995] CRDD No. 86 (QL); J.J.Y.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 50 (QL); C.D.T(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 90 (QL); V.Y.F.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 91 (QL); G.E.K.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 264 (QL); O.R.C.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 66 (QL); C.R.H.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 178 (QL); B.W.L.(Re) [1997] CRDD No. 316 (QL); S.E.X.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 77 (QL); J.K.D.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 307 (QL); T.B.E.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 304 (QL); D.E.A. (Re), [1998] CRDD No. 2 (QL); J.M.E.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 19 (QL); F.V.Y.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 20 (QL); U.O.D.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 106 (QL); Y.J.E.(Re) [1999] CRDD No. 288 (QL); N.P.Q.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 249 (QL). P.J.X.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 128 (QL); P.J.X.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 128 (QL); I.T.L.(Re) [2001] CRDD No. 26 (QL); B.Y.U.(Re) [2003] RPDD No. 353 (QL).
218. S.Z.R., ibid.
219. H.(Y.N.), n. 161 above.
220. C.D.T., n. 161 above.
221. See also H.(Y.N.), ibid.
222. C.D.T., n. 161 above.
223. Ibid.
224. O.R.C., n. 161 above.
225. F.I.N.(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 151 (QL); L.U.M.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 193 (QL); O.P.K (Re), [1996] CRDD No. 88 (QL); G.U.S.(Re), [1996] CRDD No. 66 (QL); O.R.C., ibid.; E.N.U.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 67 (QL); U.V.G.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 250 (QL); Q.N..W.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 38 (QL); U.O.D.(Re) [1999] CRDD No. 106 (QL); V.P.F.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 191 (QL). It is ironic that, in certain cases, a marriage or relationship of convenience is the only possible way to escape persecution: L.M.D. [1992] CRDD No. 328 (QL); P.E.U., [1992] CRDD No. 397 (QL); Burgos Rojas v. Canada (M.C.I.), [1999] FCJ. No. 85 (TD) (QL); O.R.R.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 122 (QL); C.R.N.(Re), [2001] C.R.D.D No. 526 (QL).
226. The situation of a Nigerian claimant shows how far family members may go to try to force someone to conform to social norms. 'The claimant's father and his three brothers confronted the claimant while he was at university, broke the information that they had about his homosexuality horsewhipped him, and mistreated him, whereupon the father involved the village elders in a ritual and gave his son, the claimant, an ultimatum: either get married or be gotten rid of by the father'. A.M.A (Re), [2000] CRDD No. 103 (QL).
227. L.U.M., ibid: '[b]eing unmarried and without children would always
228. See also C.Y.T.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 186 (QL); U.F.S.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 81 (QL); K.V.T.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 64 (QL).
229. The fact that the claimant stated he would continue to hide his homosexuality was the basis for the negative decision rendered by the Board. E.P.O.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 188 (QL).
230. X.(J.K.) (Re), [1992] CRDD No. 348 (QL).
231. See also O.P.K., n. 155 above: '[...] I moved back with my family and X went back to his family. We knew that we could not live together any more because of the pressure and the fear of exposure': R.M.W.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 76 (QL); R.Z.L.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 311 (QL).
232. 'A Comparative Analysis', n. 21 above, at 281.
233. During a training session the author gave to members of the Board in 1999 on claims based on sexual orientation, Krista Daley, legal counsel for the Board, commented to the author on the absence of a policy on this issue.
234. Penelope Mathew, 'Islam v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Regina v. Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Ex Parte Shah. 999 2 AC 629'. (2001) 95 Am J. Int'l L. 671, at 676.
235. R.Z.L.. n. 171 above.
236. Charles v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2003] RPDD No.569 (QL).
237. Cuesta c. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2003] RPDD No. 603 (QL).
238. Ibid
239. Perez c Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2004] RPDD No. 78 (QL).
240. Transgendered claimants comprise, for the purposes of this article, the following peoPle: (1) transvestites: persons of the male or female sex at birth who dress and act like the opposite sex; (2) transsexuals: persons of the male or female sex at birth who dress and act like the opposite sex, and who have started or completed sex reassignment treatments.
241. J.(H.A.) (Re), [1994] CRDD No. 404 (QL); N.(O.I.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 11 (QL); U.J.J.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 45 (QL); E.L.V.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 125 (QL); E.H.E(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 142 (QL); B.D.K.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 72 (QL); J.I.C.(Re) [2002] CRDD No. 176 (QL)
242. B.D.K., ibid.
243. U.J.J., n. 181 above. In this matter, the asylum claims of a transsexual claimant and his mother were heard jointly because the mother's fear of persecution was founded on the fact that she was the parent of a transsexual and was equally condemned by Lebanese society.
244. B.D.K., n. 181 above.
245. J.(H.A.), n. 181 above.
246. J.I.C., n. 181 above.
247. Ibid.;
248. U.J.J., n. 181 above.
249. But in other cases the distinction is clearly identified: See N(O.I. n. 181 above;
250. E.L. V., n. 181 above;
251. B.D.K., n. 181 above.
252. U.J.J., ibid.
253. Ibid.
254. Wilets asserts: '[...] the analogy between sexual minorities and oppression of women only operates to the extent that sexual minorities threaten social and sexual gender role expectations and the hierarchical social positions that accompany those expectations' See Wilets, n. 79 above, at 1011.
255. L.(M.D.)(Re), [1992] CRDD No. 328 (QL); G.J.M.(Re), [2002] CRDD No. 71 (QL).
256. H.F.P.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 188 (QL); C.X.S.(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 134 (QL); U.F.S.(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 8 (QL).
257. U.L.X.(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 83 (QL); C.Y.T(Re), [1998] CRDD No. 186 (QL); V.(O.Z.)(Re), [1993] CRDD No. 164 (QL).
258. C.X.S.(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 134 (QL); P.L.Z.(Re), [2000] CRDD No. 97 (QL).
259. L.(M.D.), [1992] CRDD No. 328 (QL); P.(E.U.)(Re), [1992] CRDD No. 397 (QL); B.B.Y.(Re), [2003] RPDD No. 29 (QL).
260. Minter, n. 112 above, at 6.
261. Sean Rehaag, 'Patrolling the Borders of Sexual Orientation: Bisexual refugee claims in Canada' (2007) [unpublished manuscript, on file with author]. Rehaag examined data from 2004 and concluded that the 'actual grant rate for sexual minority claimants exceeds the average grant rate for all refugee claims'. His research determined the successful grant rate for sexual minorities to be 49% in 2004, while the overall success rate for refugees was 45% in 2004.
262. Jenni Millbank, 'Imagining Otherness: Refugee Claims on the Basis of Sexuality in Canada and Australia' (2002) 26 Melbourne U. LR 144 at 177.
263. D.(W.Z.)(Re), [1993] C RDD No. 384 (QL).
264. Ibid.
265. D.(H.R.)(Re), [1993] CRDD No. 341 (QL).
266. Dianne Otto, 'Disconcerting Masculinities: Reinventing the Gendered Subject(s) of International Human Rights Law' in Doris Buss & Ambreena Manji (eds.), International Law: Modern Feminists Approaches (Portland, Oregon: Hart, 2005) 105 at 125.
267. Otto warns, however, that there is a danger in focussing on gender-based injuries to men: '[w] hile men's experience of gender power can be contradictory, and may involve pain and alienation, this kind of injury cannot be equated with the injury that comes from lack of gender privilege, not least because male gender injury does not benefit women ... So, while there are many disruptive possibilities in the idea that men's injuries resulting from their male privilege could be made legally cognisable, turning the attention back on men in this way runs the risk of shifting the focus away from the operation of gender hierarchies and erasing women all over again'. Ibid., at 125-6.
268. The link between the Guidelines' conceptual framework and men fleeing military service was the subject of a presentation by Vancouver lawyer, Martin Jones, Canadian Council for Refugees Conference, Vancouver, 1 June 2000.
269. For a worldwide study and survey of compulsory military service, see: Bart Horeman & Marc Stolwijk, 'Refusing to Bear Arms: A World Survey of Conscription and Conscientious Objection to Military Service' (1998: London, War Resisters' International), online: War Resisters' International, http://wri-irg.org/co/rtba/.
270. Marie-France Major, 'Conscientious Objection to Military Service: The European Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee' (2001) 32:1 California Western International Law Journal 1, at 2.
271. Major, ibid., at 3.
272. Ibid.
273. See also Matthew Lippman, 'The Recognition of Conscientious Objection to Military Service as an International Human Right' (1990-1991) 21 Cal. W. Int'l L.J. 31.
274. Legal Services, Immigration and Refugee Board, Interpretation of the Convention Refugee Definition in the Case Law (Ottawa: Immigration and Refugee Board, 2002), at 9-15 [Interpretation].
275. See also Kevin Kuzas, 'Asylum for Unrecognized Conscientious Objectors to Military Service: Is there a Right Not to Fight?' (1990-1991) 31 Va. J. Int'l L. 447.
276. Kuzas, ibid., at 449-50.
277. For a successful asylum claim based on selective conscientious objections, see Mark Hamblen, 'Exception to Asylum Ban over Military Service is Recognized' New York Law Journal (27 June 2005).
278. See Zolfagharkhani v. Canada (MEI), [1993] 3 FC 540 (FCA)
279. Ciric v. Canada (MEI), [1993] 71 F.T.R. 300 (TD).
280. See Talman v. Canada (Solicitor General) (11 Jan. 1995), IMM-5874-93 (FCTD)
281. Frid v. Canada (MEI) (15 Dec. 1994), IMM-6694-93 (FCTD).
282. Frid v. Canada, ibid., at 3.
283. Some exceptions include: Peru, Libya, Israel, and Eritrea. See 'Refusing to Bear Arms', n. 205 above. In Spod v. Austria, the European Commission on Human Rights held that the difference in treatment between men and women was justified in part because excluding women from mandatory military service was the common standard among European State: Major, n. 206 above, at 34.
284. Sandra Whitworth, Men, Militarism & UN Peacekeeping (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2004), at 153.
285. Whitworth, ibid.
286. Whitworth, ibid., at 152.
287. See the case of Idan Halili in Amnesty International, 'Conscientious Objectors - Previous Appeals' (4 January 2006), online: Amnesty International http://web.amnesty.org/pages/iot_previous_appeals_caes.
288. Otto, n. 202 above, at 125.
289. Ibid.
290. Jones, n. 204 above.
291. For example, Mexico's Military Service Law imposes penalties for conscription evasion that vary from imprisonment for one month to one year: Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Mexico: Military Service (Ottawa: Immigration and Refugee Board, 1999), at para. 3.
292. See Interpretation, n. 209 above, at 9-15 - 9-19.
293. Holth, n. 75 above, at 29.
294. See Amnesty International, Pakistan; Honour Killings of Girls and Women (1 Sept. 1999), online: Amnesty International http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA330181999
295. Human Rights Watch, Honoring the Killers: Justice Denied For 'Honor' Crimes In Jordan (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2004), online: Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/jordan0404/Jordan0404.pdf
296. Molly Moore,'In Turkey, "Honor Killing" Follows Families to Cities', Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2001, A01;
297. Human Rights Watch, Women's Rights Project, Criminal Injustice: Violence Against Women in Brazil (Oct. 1991), 20-26.
298. Honour killings are also reported in western industralized countries: 'Boyfriend was stabbed 46 times in "honour killing", court told', The Times, 6 Oct. 2005, online: Timesonline http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1813149,00.html.
299. A man's honour, defiled by a woman's alleged or real sexual misdemeanour or other defiance, is only partly restored by killing her. He also has to kill the man allegedly involved': Amnesty International, Pakistan; Honour Killings of Girls and Women (1 Sept. 1999), online: Amnesty International http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA330181999.
300. Ibid.
301. Ibid.
302. United States, Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004 (Report Submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations US Senate and Committee on International Relations) (Washington, DC: United States House of Representatives, 2004), online: US Department of State http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/ 41743.htm.
303. United States, Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998 (Report Submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations US Senate and Committee on International Relations) (Washington, DC: United States House of Representatives, 1999), at 1956.
304. Ibid., at 1957.
305. Ibid.
306. Asia Watch, Double Jeopardy: Police Abuse of Women in Pakistan (New York: Asia Watch, 1992), at 62.
307. Ibid. An appeal was filed and the couple was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
308. Ibid., at 63-4. The couple fled in order to marry, and the father filed a complaint with the police. He accused the husband of kidnapping, an offence that carries the most severe penalty in the Penal Code. The couple presented a defence that their marriage was consensual (ibid., at 64). The Supreme Court of Pakistan quashed the decision on lack of evidence.
309. Nicholas Kristoff, 'A Pakistani Rape, and a Pakistani Love Story', The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2005, at 21.
310. Ibid.
311. Y.(M.J.)(Re), [1993] CRDD No. 339 (QL); W.(Y.J.), [1994] CRDD No. 91 (QL); C.(I.J.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 30 (QL); N.(B.B.)(Re), [1995] CRDD No. 80 (QL); B.G.I.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 266 (QL); X.O.M. (Re), [2000] CRDD No. 100 (QL).
312. The issue of adultery was raised by the male claimants in the following decisions: H.I.U.(Re) [2002] RPDD No. 291 (QL); L.J.U(Re), [1999] CRDD No. 207 (QL) (the claim was rejected for the reason that the claimant's testimony was not credible); I.Y.V.(Re), [1997] CRDD No. 221 (QL).
313. C.(I.J.) (Re), n. 238 above.
314. Guidelines, n. 6 above, at 4-5.
315. A Comparative Analysis', n. 21 above, at 279.
316. Ibid.
317. 2002 UNHCR Guidelines, n. 20 above, at 2.
318. Nahla Valji & Lee Anne De La Hunt, Gender Guidelines for Asylum Determination (Cape Town: University of Cape Town Legal Aid Clinic, 1999), at 6.
319. 2002 UNHCR Guidelines, n. 20 above, at 2.
320. On this last point, my analysis is partially in line with that of Sherene Razack, who asserts that analyses of claims for asylum made by racialized women too often neglect to make the link between gender-based persecution and persecution based on race: Razack, n. 57 above.
321. Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refugee Women and A Gender Perspective Approach, UN ESCOR, 49th sess., UN Doc. EC/49/SC/CRP.22 (1999), online: UNHCR http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/excom/opendoc.pdf?tbl= EXCOM&id=3cc41bce7 (accessed: 28 Mar. 2001).
322. Asylum Gender Guidelines, n. 53 above, at para. 1.5.
323. Home Office Guidelines, n. 53 above.
324. Above, n. 41.
325. Note, however, that the Act uses term 'sex' and not 'gender': 1.-(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-[...] 'membership of a particular group' includes membership of a trade union and also includes membership of a group of persons whose defining characteristic is their belonging to the female or the male sex or having a particular sexual orientation. Refugee (Republic of Ireland) Act, S.I. 290/1996, online: Government of the Republic of Ireland http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ ZZA17Y1996S1.html (accessed: 30 Mar. 2001).
326. 2002 UNHCR Guidelines, n. 20 above, at 2.
327. Ibid., at 2.
328. Ibid., at 4.
329. Ibid., at 4-5.
330. Amnesty International, n. 93 above, at 4.
331. Asylum Gender Guidelines, n. 53 above, at para. 2A.25.