Canadian refugee policy : international developments and debates on the role of gender in refugee determination procedures

Through the evolution of international human rights law and policy, gender has become a prohibited ground for persecution. However the international definition of a refugee contained in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees does not explicitly include gender as an enumerated ground on which persecution can be feared. This omission has required women who fear gender-based persecution to use the Convention's "membership in a particular social group" provision. Traditionally, judicial interpretation of criteria establishing a "particular social group" was not consistent in cases alleging gender-based persecution. In 1993, Canada developed guidelines that attempt to establish a coherent and consistent application of the "particular social group" category. This represents a state policy initiative to recognize the international evolution of policy on gender as a basis for persecution. Although the guidelines challenge theories of state sovereignty in the design and execution of domestic policy, they demonstrate that a coherent and consistent framework for granting asylum status to women who fear gender-based persecution can be developed in such policy