Women from third countries can receive protection in the EU due to domestic or other violence. Member States can recognize them as refugees or at least grant them subsidiary protection against deportation, as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday in Luxembourg.
In this specific case, a Kurdish woman with Turkish nationality had applied for international protection in Bulgaria. She was forced to marry, but divorced. She was subsequently threatened by her ex-husband and also by her family of origin and feared that she would become a victim of a so-called honor killing.
Women can be recognized as refugees
The ECJ has now ruled that women can be recognized as refugees or granted subsidiary protection under such circumstances. Refugee status concerns persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership of a particular social group.
In this sense, women can be seen as a ‘social group’. “Consequently, they may be granted refugee status if they are exposed to physical or psychological violence, including sexual violence and domestic violence, in their country of origin because of their gender,” the Luxembourg judges ruled.
Subsidiary protection possible
Subsidiary protection may be granted if this requirement is not met, but a woman is at risk of ‘serious harm’ in her country of origin, such as execution or other inhuman or degrading treatment.
In justification, the Court of Justice also referred to the 2011 Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. This Istanbul Convention is binding on the EU and recognizes gender-based violence against women as a form of persecution.
Source: Krone
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