Родно засновано насиље у контексту права на азил
Gender-based violence in the context of the right to asylum

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines gender-based violence in the context of the right to asylum through the legislation and case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, national courts of member states, and competent authorities in the Republic of Serbia. The Convention on the Status of Refugees from 1951, as a fundamental act of refugee law, does not define gender as one of the grounds of persecution based on which refugee status can be granted. Also, the relevant Directive 2011/95/EU takes over the definitions of refugees from the Convention even though it stipulates that aspects related to gender, including gender identity, are taken into account when deciding on the right to asylum. In this regard, the paper will present two current decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which bring important innovations in this area and establish standards for deciding on the right to asylum in relation to women who are victims of violence. After analysing these decisions, it is concluded that women victims of violence can be characterised as members of a special social group, who on that basis claim the right to asylum. Also, the analysis of legislation and practice in the Republic of Serbia showed that the legislative framework is adequate and prescribes gender as one of the grounds of persecution for the approval of refugee status; however, the practice of competent authorities in the Republic of Serbia showed deficiencies in establishing clear decision-making standards and examining the circumstances in the country of origin as well as the excessive burden of proof in relation to asylum applicants who need to prove that they are indeed victims of gender-based violence.

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