Women's Human Rights Resources Database

This article focuses on the barriers facing refugee and internally displaced women in Africa in accessing their rights, arguing that although women constitute the majority of refugee and internally displaced populations they are marginalized within many of the legal instruments. The article begins by reviewing the rights of refugee and displaced women under international law. There is a focus upon the practical elements of providing assistance in assessing the capacity of institutional actors to undertake protection activities. The article concludes with specific recommendations on developments within international human rights law to recognize the rights and needs of refugee and displaced women with greater accuracy. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International - Africa]

This article discusses the Canadian government's approach to human trafficking since the adoption of the UN Trafficking Protocol in 2000. The authors begin with an overview of the Trafficking Protocol and analyze Canada's efforts in three areas: prevention of human trafficking, protection of trafficking victims and prosecution of traffickers. They argue that while the Canadian government has made significant progress since 2000, greater legislative measures are necessary to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked individuals, who are often treated as criminals. They also discuss trafficking deterrence and legal protection of victims in other countries, and identify future challenges for Canadian policymakers. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, Canada]

This research presents a case study regarding the barriers of access to the labour market faced by Syrian refugee women, through data analysis of a survey conducted on 207 migrant women under a temporary protection regime in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. The survey took the form of 35 questions covering socio-demographic issues regarding living conditions, level of income and education, difficulties integrating into the Turkish labor market, etc. The author concludes that structural barriers such as lack of computerization of work permit applications and linguistic competence become difficulties for both migrant men and women, but these issues disproportionately affect women and are also more problematic for them because additional family obligations deter women from contributing economically to their households. 

This article focuses on the notion of “intersecting borders of equality” ––drawn from intersectionality theory and the concept of “normative boundaries of belonging” ––to show the disadvantages and human rights violations faced by migrant women. The author highlights that formal, normative, and practical borders construe migrant women as outsiders or lesser members in society. When viewed through this lens, it becomes evident that migrant women’s experiences are shaped by different inequality structures rather than their own personal choices or failures. The author concludes by paying attention to how it may not always be possible to dismantle borders of inequality, especially without making deep changes in dominant cultural attitudes. Therefore, the focus of international human rights law should be to remain attentive to fixing these borders rather than reinforcing its disadvantages.

This article assesses the impact of the UN Trafficking Protocol. It starts with an overview of international trafficking in persons and highlights major provisions in the Trafficking Protocol. Recommendations and strategies to address trafficking are also outlined by the author. The author stresses that more action is needed against trafficking: "states must build [the Trafficking Protocol's] legacy upon more than an increase in public awareness about trafficking in human beings or an increase in the number of laws to punish traffickers'. He argues that although the Trafficking Protocol is integral to the fight against trafficking, states need to cooperate on bilateral and multilateral levels, and actively prosecute and punish traffickers. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

This paper analyzes Colombia’s international human rights obligations concerning the immigration status and the right to reproductive health of pregnant Venezuelan women. These women flee to Colombia in search of reproductive health care and safety for their children and their own lives as a result of the serious denial of health care in Venezuela. However, pregnant Venezuelan women are not receiving adequate prenatal and postnatal care because of the insufficient health care system for immigrants in Colombia. The Colombian government only provides them with emergency health care because most Venezuelan pregnant women arrive with irregular immigration status. Thus, the authors emphasize that it is crucial for Colombia to formally recognize these women as refugees and provide them with accessible and sufficient reproductive health care.

Private and opportunistic violence against forced female migrants does not fall clearly within the international criminal law framework in the same way that prohibited 'public' attacks do. Furthermore, forced female migrants cannot rely on their own governments, host governments, and often, even on international humanitarian organizations to protect them. This article argues that international criminal law could fill the void by expanding its scope and restructuring its focus. A structure designed specifically to prevent and account for opportunistic violence against female forced migrants would be better equipped to perform the task. Criminal accountability might be better performed in national legal systems or informal justice systems within camp environments, or perhaps human rights law might appropriately address such harms.

This article examines the obstacles faced by women seeking asylum due to gender-based persecution. First, the author reviews the difficulties in framing gender-based persecution claims such that they fit into internationally recognized definitions and categories. The author argues that there is no reason why the use of the existing "membership in a particular social class category" cannot continue while efforts to achieve the recognition of a new category of "gender" also take place. Second, the author turns her attention to the implications of the fact that the developed refugee-receiving states themselves have not been completely effective in eliminating violence against women within their own borders. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This article discusses the significance of the 1996 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) decision in the case of Elizebeth Kuma. In this case, the threat of female genital cutting (FGC) to the applicant's three-year-old daughter was considered sufficient grounds for recognition of her refugee status. According to the author, the ruling built on recent national developments in asylum law and sent a clear message regarding the UNHCR's stance on FGC. Because the reasoning for UNHCR rulings are not publicly available, the author refers to the various obligations found in international human rights instruments such as the Women's Convention, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT) that could be used to support the decision. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International]

The current asylum laws of the international community do not adequately address the unique needs of female refugees which result from pervasive gender discrimination. This paper advocates the addition of a category of gender to the internationally recognized definition of refugee. Section II outlines the physical and sexual violence committed against women around the world. Section III reviews the international documents that form the basis of modern asylum law and applicable human rights standards. Sections IV through VI focus specifically on United States asylum laws and the problems encountered by women seeking refuge from gender-based persecution. Section VII proposes to add a gender category to the U.S. and UN definitions of refugee. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

Many women seek refugee protection fleeing from forced marriages. However, because there is no precedent establishing forced marriage as a form of persecution, these women often have to establish their claims on related harms that already constitute persecution, such as rape,. The article discusses what constitutes forced marriage and the development of requirements for refugee protection. The author then examines the meaning of persecution and how forced marriage may fit within the definition. Following this more general discussion, the article analyzes a number of U.S. cases involving forced marriage to explore the treatment of forced marriage in asylum adjudications. The analysis identifies a number of factors in asylum adjudications involving forced marriage, including legal challenges and adjudicator misapprehensions. It concludes that forced marriage as persecution is barely addressed in U.S. asylum cases. The author concludes that forced marriages should be considered a form of persecution under domestic and international law since they deprive women of the fundamental right to freely consent to marriage. Kim Thuy Seelinger, Forced Marriage and Asylum: Perceiving the Invisible Harm (2010) 42:1 Colum HRL Rev 55.

This article analyzes the changes the Korean government made to its marriage-migration-related laws and then uses these changes as a means to explore the relationship between society and law in the context of globalization. The author’s findings revealed that the changes made to marriage-migration-related laws by the government were a reflection of its response to the recent increase of marriage migration in Korea and the impacts this is consequently having on rapid industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. These changes also showcase the government’s role in making multicultural and social integration policies for marriage migrants. From such changes, the author deduced that the relationship between society and law, at least within the marriage-migration context, is one of a “society first, and law follows” relationship on the one hand, and a “law first, and society follows” relationship on the other.  

This article examines the impact of laws and policies on the human rights and socio-legal status of Filipina migrant domestic workers who participate in Canada's Live-in Caregiver Program by comparing their situation to that of Filipina migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. The author finds that the laws and policies in both countries allow for the mistreatment of Filipina migrant domestic workers in order to supply a demand for cheap childcare and homecare labour. She argues for reforms and re-evaluation of immigration policies in both countries to prevent the ill treatment of Filipina migrant domestic workers. [Descriptors: Migration, Labour Migration - Canada]

This article discusses the provisions of the now defunct immigration legislation Bill C-31 tabled in the Canadian House of Commons in April 2000. Many of the core provisions in Bill C-31 were retained in Bill C-11 which created the 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The author analyzes the proposed changes in Bill C-31 to various migrant categories including family class, temporary employment, domestic workers, extra-legal migrants, and human smuggling and trafficking. She highlights weaknesses in the proposed changes that make women migrants vulnerable to human rights abuse. She argues that the Canadian state has an obligation to improve protection of women migrants' human rights, particularly as Canadians reap the benefits of migrant women's domestic and sexual labour. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, Canada]

This article seeks to raise awareness of the global trafficking of women and urge the international community to seriously protect women's human rights. It begins by discussing the international trafficking of women and the social, cultural and political factors that perpetuate the industry. An overview of existing laws to combat trafficking of women for the sex trade in the UN, the EU and the US is also provided. The author notes that while a number of international and domestic legal instruments exist, enforcement remains ineffective and inconsistent. She emphasizes that effective enforcement requires concentration on prevention, prosecution of traffickers and protection of trafficked persons. She concludes with a set of recommendations. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

This article reviews the progress of women refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The main argument is that the lack of inclusion of gender within the Refugee Convention is exacerbated by the same gap in the international legal system. The article begins with a review of the Convention itself and the feminist critique of efforts to incorporate women within the refugee definitions. The authors argue that the efforts to include women within the international legal protection regime do not account for many of the practical barriers facing women in making their particular refugee claims. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

Arguing that trafficking in women is a form of violence against women and a clear violation of fundamental human rights, the author provides a general discussion of the social, economic and legal dimensions of the problem. It is noted that trafficking regularly channels women into forced prostitution, sweatshop labour and exploitative domestic servitude. The author finds that in large part, the root of the problem lies in global economic inequalities and the poverty faced by women in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. As such, she argues that women's participation in trafficking is not voluntary, but a desperate act. Finally, various domestic and international legal reforms are proposed. The article includes some discussion of the particular situations of trafficking women in Russia and Ukraine. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

This article examines the development of Australian jurisprudence on refugee claims of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered and HIV-positive individuals. The article contains detailed discussion of international refugee law and the characterization of homosexuality as a particular social group under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The article also includes comparisons with jurisprudence from other countries including Canada, the US, and the UK. The second part of the article discusses the assessment of persecution for these groups by the courts. The author concludes that the consideration of persecution by the court needs to recognize the specific nature of these claims and to apply refugee law in a non-discriminatory manner. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This article begins with examples of the human rights of women being violated simply because they are women. The subsequent review of United States immigration and asylum law on gender-based persecution looks to the necessity of incorporating international law within the US law. Part I reviews the international human rights instruments relevant for the protection of women and Part II reviews the US asylum law. The article then moves to consider specific elements of the refugee definition and how they are being applied with the US. In Part VI, the author reviews the current procedures of interviewing female applicants and highlights means through which these procedures could be improved. The article concludes that gender-based persecution is an appropriate ground on which to grant asylum. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International - North America]