Background information
on gender and asylum issues4

This page contains a list of recommended resources for country conditions in gender asylum cases, and a selection of links to relevant related organizations and web resources. Please contact us to suggest a link. This information is made available as a resource and research tool; the listed information is generally taken from the organization's web site.

Gender Asylum

Key partner organizations in the fight to save asylum for women fleeing persecution because of their gender:

Amnesty International

The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF)

Human Rights First

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

Gender, Human Rights and Refugee Status

Amnesty International USA's Women's Program

Asylumaid (UK)  -- see their Refugee Women's Resource Project for resources on gender asylum claims.

asylumlaw.org -- an excellent resource, founded with the sole purpose of using the Internet to help lawyers worldwide prepare the best asylum cases they can.  Provides country-conditions reports, a human rights database search, a brief bank, and more.

BRIDGE (Briefings on Development and Gender) - A project at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Provides tailor-made briefings on gender issues upon request. BRIDGE briefings present state of the art research findings, review current policy debates, and evaluate strategies for translating gender policies into practice. Site provides access to the project’s collection database and BRIDGE publications.

The Canadian Council for Refugees is a non-profit networking, information exchange and advocacy group for organizations involved in the settlement, sponsorship and protection of refugees and immigrants. The site contains policy documents and an extensive list of related sites, including Canadian NGO and government sites, human rights organizations, and international policy sites.  See their page on gender asylum.

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Feminist human rights NGO that works internationally to oppose all forms of sexual exploitation. This site contains links to fact sheets, publications, services, campaigns, and related sites and can be accessed in English, French, and Spanish.

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) is an umbrella organization of refugee-assisting agencies in 25 countries working towards fair and humane policies for the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.  See their Position Paper on Asylum Seeking and Refugee Women.

Equality Now - An international human rights organization dedicated to action for the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women. Their Women’s Action Network provides information on specific abuses and ongoing violations and develops appropriate actions and strategies in collaboration with local experts.

The European Women's Lobby is the largest co-ordinating body of national and European non-governmental women's organisations in the European Union, with over 2,700 member associations in the 15 Member States. The EWL's goal is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to serve as a link between political decision-makers and women's organisations at EU level..

See FVPF's reports on domestic violence in countries around the world

The Haiti Asylum Information Project (HAIP) page, from the Insitute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, contains valuable information for Haitian asylum claims, including country conditions and a sample expert affidavit on gender violence.

A bibliography on honour killing / crimes of honor from Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) and the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS), on the Univ. of Minnesota's Human Rights Library's website.

The Human Rights Center of the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley.

Human Rights Watch Women's Division

The Initiative on Conflict Resolution & Ethnicity (INCORE) in the U.K. offers a wealth of information about internet resources on conflict and ethnicity specific to particular countries and regions.  See their guide to Internet sources on Women and Conflict, and their general country guides.

The International Center for Research on Women is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting social and economic development with women's full participation. ICRW generates quality, empirical information and technical assistance on women's productive and reproductive roles, their status in the family, their leadership in society, and their management of environmental resources.

The International Gender Studies Resources site is maintained by a UC Berkeley project, “International Gender Systems in Comparative Perspective.” It features research and teaching materials meant to facilitate the integration of Women's and Gender Studies into International and Area Studies philosophy and curricula. This site offers general and specific bibliographies and filmographies on issues pertaining to women and gender in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Arab World, and among minority cultures in North America and Europe.

International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) was organized in 1985 at the World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya to monitor implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the CEDAW Convention) -- see their country reports

Manavi  is a community based organization for women who trace their cultural heritage to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Manavi's goal is to increase awareness of women's rights in society and encourage social change to end all violence against them.  Manavi has set up a national project, Zamin, which works with battered South Asian women seeking permanent residency in the US.   They have a network of South Asia experts who write affidavits (generally regarding country conditions and hardship claims) on behalf of women.

Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights' Refugee and Immigrant Program serves refugees, asylees and immigrants -- see their publications on domestic violence and other women's rights issues.

Mujeres Red - A Spanish-language site with resources and information on women's human rights around the world.  For example, find the text of a Paraguayan bill on domestic violence.

The National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women is a national advocacy effort -- coordinated by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund -- aimed at removing the numerous barriers battered immigrant and children face when they attempt to leave abusive relationships.

Probono.net's asylum practice area plays an important role in linking asylum clients with legal assistance, and providing assistance to pro bono attorneys.

The Refugee Law Center works in collaboration with other human rights, refugee policy, legal representation organizations in the U.S. and other countries to provide amicus briefs, legal support, human rights and country condition documentation, as well as legal representation on issues related to refugee protection.

The Refugee Women's Legal Group (United Kingdom) is an informal group of lawyers, practitioners, academics and others working with refugee and asylum seeking women which meets on a regular basis to discuss common concerns, formulate responses and share information.

The Refugee Women's Resource Project of the U.K.'s Asylum Aid aims to enable women fleeing serious human rights violations to gain protection in the UK.

The Research, Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women (RAINBO) is an international not-for-profit organization working on issues within the intersection between health and human rights of women. RAINBO explores means of preventing female genital mutilation and other forms of gender-based violence and violations.

Sakhi for South Asian Women - A community-based organization in the New York metropolitan area committed to ending the exploitation and violence against women of South Asian origin. Recognizing oppression based on class, immigration status, religion, and sexual orientation, Sakhi workw to empower women, particularly survivors of domestic violence. Sakhi strives to create a voice and safe environment for all South Asian women through outreach, advocacy, leadership development, and organizing.

South Asian Women’s NETwork - A resource network for South Asian women. Includes links on publications, domestic violence, careers, and other topics. The Legal Issues link includes legal news in South Asia, laws and constitutions in South Asia, and relevant immigration laws.

Tahirih Justice Center seeks to bring justice to the lives of women facing human rights abuses, with a particular emphasis on immigrant and refugee women.  Legal, medical and social services.

The mission of the U.S. Committee for Refugees is to defend the rights of uprooted people regardless of nationality, race, religion, ideology, or social group. The site provides a country condition search field, an expert network search, statistical data, news, and information on campaigns for refugees.

The Women's Human Rights Net provides relevant information, news and links.

The Women's Human Rights Resources page from the University of Toronto's Law Library has "diverse, quality information on women's international human rights law. Each subject is divided into 1) Articles: annotated bibliographic references to scholarly articles with links to full text where available and 2) Documents: annotated references to conventions and UN Reports, NGO reports, case law and legislation with links to full text where available."

Resources on Female Genital Cutting

Check the World Health Organization's general FGC information page

FGM Education and Networking Project

Rainbo

Other Immigration, Refugee and International Resources

Integration-Net, a bilingual web site developed as a research, communications and professional development tool for the Canadian settlement community.

The Migration Law Network (Netzwerk Migrationsrecht), organized by German scholars, seeks to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion for the diverse topics under the umbrella of migration law.

The Refuge Media Project was created by filmmakers, health educators, and human rights activists concerned about refugees and asylum seekers. Projects include documentaries on treatment and support programs for immigrant torture survivors in the United States.