Domestic Violence as Gender Persecution: Policing the Borders of Nation, Race and Gender

This article considers the interaction of race and gender within the refugee application process in Canada. The author argues that the system fails to recognize how the dominant social and political systems created by colonization perpetuate the violence and victimization of women. Part I consists of a theoretical examination of the subject of refugee law and how women are constructed in these scenarios. Part II examines specific cases of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board and finds that the claims of women fleeing domestic violence are more likely to be successful when the women present themselves as victims of the patriarchal state. In conclusion, the author argues for greater accountability for these claimants by refugee receiving states. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Race and Gender, Canada]