OBSTACLES FOR MIGRANT WOMEN TO OBTAIN REFUGEE STATUS
Keywords:
gender-based violence, obtaining refugee status, women as asylum seekers, EU standards, Serbian policies and practicesAbstract
Purpose
The text identifies the discriminated position of women as refugee seekers in the context of international law, which for decades has been stereotypically recognized male refugee seeker who comes from the area of current armed conflicts. This leads to difficulties in recognizing women who came in equally serious danger due to the existence of structural, gender-based violence.
Design/Methods/Approach
A desk analysis of international and domestic regulations is to be applied, which recognize gender-based violence as a basis for obtaining refugee status. Data from the reports of the Commissariat for Refugees of Serbia, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and media reports on the situation of "women on the move" (migrant women and refugees) in Serbia are used. The European Union set standards in directives from 2011 and 2013 so that gender-based violence, including rape, sexual violence, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and forced marriage, can be recognized as a form of legally relevant persecution. Serbian policy and practice are presented
Findings
It is pointed out how women victims of structural violence (not)fit into the provisions of international public law when they have to prove that they are threatened with persecution of serious human rights violations or serious physical injuries in their country of origin. Apart from the difficulties in proving and accepting the existence of gender-based violence, the trend of introducing migration restrictions is becoming more and more intense globally, what made women’s situation even worse.
Originality/Value
At a high international level, the connects the issue of the urgently needed demographic renewal of Europe with the issue of realizing the dignity of all migrants. The reception of migrants alleviates the problems associated with the accelerated aging of the population in the developed countries of the West. Employers recognize the value of diversity in the workforce, while the integration of immigrants into the education system and the labor market increases overall productivity and reduces social frictions.
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