Respondent, by and through her attorney of record, hereby submits this brief in support of her application for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, relief under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, and, alternatively, Special Immigrant Juvenile Petition.
“EL SALVADORAN MARRIED WOMEN WHO ARE UNABLE TO LEAVE THE DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIP BASED ON SOCIETAL NORMS”
I. STATEMENT OF FACTS
Respondent is a 34-year-old mother of two boys, who are currently 5 and 10 years of age. All are natives and citizens of El Salvador. Respondent and her two children entered the United States, on September 10, 2015 near Hidalgo, Texas, without inspection. The Respondent and her children have continuously resided in the United States since their initial entry without leaving. …show more content…
For many reasons, a female asylum applicant might not have access to identity documents or other documentary proof of her claim. For example, women in the applicant’s country may not be afforded full rights of citizenship, or an applicant’s means of support may have been dependent upon a male relative who had control over any documents pertaining to the female applicant. It may be unreasonable to expect a woman fleeing from a refugee producing country to have documentation of sexual abuse because of the strong cultural stigma attached to rape; “women survivors of sexual violence often are reluctant to seek medical assistance or to file police reports because they do not want it known that they were raped.” Global Report on Women’s Human Rights, August 1996. Cultural differences and norms governing women’s behavior, as well as the effects of trauma, may present special difficulties in evaluating credibility of female asylum applicants. For example, social constraints controlling access to information, the effects of trauma, or customs of social interaction may limit a woman’s ability to provide detailed testimony about certain aspects of her claim. Also, as women from certain countries are less likely to be literate than their male compatriots, they may not have the ability to review the asylum application for
“EL SALVADORAN MARRIED WOMEN WHO ARE UNABLE TO LEAVE THE DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIP BASED ON SOCIETAL NORMS”
I. STATEMENT OF FACTS
Respondent is a 34-year-old mother of two boys, who are currently 5 and 10 years of age. All are natives and citizens of El Salvador. Respondent and her two children entered the United States, on September 10, 2015 near Hidalgo, Texas, without inspection. The Respondent and her children have continuously resided in the United States since their initial entry without leaving. …show more content…
For many reasons, a female asylum applicant might not have access to identity documents or other documentary proof of her claim. For example, women in the applicant’s country may not be afforded full rights of citizenship, or an applicant’s means of support may have been dependent upon a male relative who had control over any documents pertaining to the female applicant. It may be unreasonable to expect a woman fleeing from a refugee producing country to have documentation of sexual abuse because of the strong cultural stigma attached to rape; “women survivors of sexual violence often are reluctant to seek medical assistance or to file police reports because they do not want it known that they were raped.” Global Report on Women’s Human Rights, August 1996. Cultural differences and norms governing women’s behavior, as well as the effects of trauma, may present special difficulties in evaluating credibility of female asylum applicants. For example, social constraints controlling access to information, the effects of trauma, or customs of social interaction may limit a woman’s ability to provide detailed testimony about certain aspects of her claim. Also, as women from certain countries are less likely to be literate than their male compatriots, they may not have the ability to review the asylum application for