International protection of women victims of violence

Gender-based persecution is a distinct form of persecution which may fall within the definition of “refugee” envisaged by the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

DEFINITION OF “VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN” GIVEN BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

“The term violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.

According to legislation on supplementary guarantees adopted by the Council of the European Union in 1996, Member States must ensure the presence of female qualified officials and interpreters in asylum application procedures initiated by women, particularly when female asylum seekers have some difficulty in exhaustively reporting their motivations by reason of the events occurred to them or their cultural origin.

VARIOUS FORMS OF VIOLENCE EXIST

• domestic violence
• female genital mutilation
• selective abortion and infanticide
• spousal abuse and child-brides
• sexual abuse
• trafficking and prostitution
• violence against women in armed conflicts
• violence against female refugees