Women Within the Refugee Construct: 'Exclusionary Inclusion' in Policy and Practice -- The Australian Experience

The article addresses the barriers facing women refugees claiming asylum in Western states and discusses the role that power and patriarchy play in constructing these barriers. The author begins with a brief background of the contemporary Australian policy on refugees. She then moves to a discussion of the specific experiences of women refugees and identifies where international law and the Australian system fail to protect the specific vulnerabilities of women. The article also contains a detailed review of domestic jurisprudence, from Australia and other Western states, on refugee claims concerning gender persecution. The author concludes that there is no need to incorporate a specific category of gender persecution; however, there is an acute necessity for a more comprehensive understanding of the issues faced by refugee women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]