Reason to disbelieve: evaluating the rape claims of women seeking asylum in the UK

Abstract

Asylum applicants in the UK must show, to a 'reasonable degree of likelihood', a well-founded fear of persecution, on the basis of race, religion, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, in the event of return 'home'. This requirement presents myriad challenges both to claimants and decision-makers.Based on findings from a three-year national study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, this article explores those challenges as they relate to women seeking asylum in the UK, whose applications include an allegation of rape. The study explored the extent to which difficulties relating to disclosure and credibility, which are well documented in the context of women's sexual assault allegations in the criminal justice system, might be replicated and compounded for female asylumseekers whose applications include a claim of rape. Findings suggest that the structural and practical obstacles faced in establishing credibility, and the existence of scepticism about rape claims and asylum-seeking more generally, mean that 1 The authors are indebted to The Nuffield Foundation for funding this research (AJU/36101) and to Zoe Harper, our research assistant during the data generation stages of the project. Thanks are due to the project's Advisory Board for their time and advice. We would also like to thank all those who generously gave their time and support to the study, whether by being interviewed or facilitating tribunal observations. We are particularly grateful to the asylum claimants who allowed us to observe their hearings or to otherwise learn about their cases, and to include their experiences in our research. 1 decision-making can often be experienced as arbitrary, unjust, uninformed or contradictory, making it difficult for women asylum applicants who allege rape to find refuge in the UK.

Debating credibility

“…For example, in Australia, section 46A(1) of the Migration Act 1958 bars "unauthorized maritime arrivals" from applying for a refugee visa. 2 Further, such discourse is likely to influence the individual officials who are responsible for refugee visa applications (Baillot, Cowan, & Munro, 2014;Hamlin, 2014). As explored below, this means that even those persons who have the opportunity to apply for a refugee visa may experience difficulties in being believed.…”

“…(Migration Act 1958, section 46A(1)). Second, political pressures and discourse also influence refugee decision makers' credibility assessments and fact-finding, leading them to treat asylum claims with suspicion (Baillot, Cowan, & Munro, 2014;Hamlin, 2014). This means that credibility has also become a central issue in status determination processes (Smith-Khan, 2017b, 2017d.…”

“…This is even the case where the reasons for not reporting the rape seem strikingly compelling, for example where an applicant did not make a report to the police after she was raped by an army corporal (Anker, 1992, p. 519). Delays in disclosing rape during the RSD process have also been found to harm general credibility, despite research and procedural guidance urging caution (Baillot et al, 2014).…”

Stopping rape

“…Some victim-survivors are particularly vulnerable by virtue of their ethnicity, language, minority, refugee or indigenous status, their age, their location in remote or underdeveloped areas, or their disability status. For example, Baillot et al (2014) point to the parallels between rape cases and asylum claims in terms of the challenges associated with disclosure and credibility. They argue that these challenges may be replicated and compounded for women asylum-seekers where their narrative of persecution includes rape, which ultimately makes it difficult for these women to find refuge.…”

Asylum seekers' experiences in Australia between 2012 and 2014: The Structural-Personal Interaction Process

“…• gender-based violence and rape (Baillot, Cowan and Munro 2014;Keygnaert, Vettenburg and Temmerman 2012) In their Annual Report, the RRT (Australian Government 2013b) provided case studies explaining a number of reasons for seeking asylum in Australia. These included experiences of: incarceration for political or religious reasons, systematic insult and physical harm, discrimination for being politically active in minority ethnic groups or religions, family members going missing or being killed due to involvement in political activities, and being beaten or tortured due to ethnicity and being part of a political group.…”