Description: | This examination of refugee status determination for trafficked prostituted women from CEE/CIS countries to Wester is not a call for asylum for all trafficked women. It does, however, present arguments regarding gender-based persecution, and call for the inclusion of trafficked women in refugee-determination proceedings on the grounds of membership of a particular social group. In case-by-case interviews, it is possible to assess whether a particular victim of trafficking, as an individual, has a well-founded fear of persecution and is in need of international protection. Although being a victim of trafficking does not guarantee blanket refugee status, survivors should be afforded the possibility to be heard for refugee status determination, having passed the threshold on one of the five convention grounds, that of membership of a particular social group. If trafficking survivors are afforded the possibility of asylum, benefits could also extend to governments, as more survivors may be willing to testify against their traffickers. |
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