Country of Origin Information and Women:

Researching gender and persecution in the context of asylum and human rights claims

Introduction

This publication is designed as a practical guide to researching gender and persecution in the context of asylum and human rights claims. It is intended for those who are involved in collating information about human rights conditions in refugee producing countries, whether in a professional or voluntary capacity.These may include legal representatives, researchers and library/information workers. These professionals might be based within private and voluntary agencies providing legal advice and representation, or web-based agencies hosting electronic libraries/databases or within government departments.

Generally their roles are to:

*Produce country reports on human rights conditions in countries of origin

*Undertake case research on individual asylum or human rights claims on behalf of legal representatives or individuals

*Work in library/information settings in the asylum field, supporting research on human rights in countries of origin

Increasingly volunteers are undertaking research on behalf of asylum seekers who are in detention, who are without representation or who feel they are receiving poor representation.

These volunteers may be working with refugee community organisations, faith based groups, befriender organisations and non-asylum organisations that have a lot of contact with asylum seekers.

RWRP has given research support to professionals and volunteers working within the determination process, and to those whose primary contact with asylum seeking women is in a non-legal environment such as education, health and psycho-social support workers. RWRP also provides research support directly to asylum seeking women.

This research guide discusses types of gender persecution pertinent to the context of researching women's individual asylum claims. It focuses on research issues within women's claims because materials needed to substantiate women's cases often relate to gendered experiences of violence and the socio-cultural fabric of the society women live in, and such information is not readily available in usual sources of Country of Origin Information (COI).

Download the report: 1.7MB

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