Asylum for Battered Women – New Options under current policy

We all know that Asylum is a tough relief to get and one must fit a very strict set of legal standards. Mostly political or related cases. But now the Obama Administration opened the door to a new policy. The government has opened the way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States. The action reverses a Bush administration stance in a protracted and passionate legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees.

In addition to meeting other strict conditions for asylum, abused women will need to show that they are treated by their abuser as subordinates and little better than property, according to an immigration court filing by the administration, and that domestic abuse is widely tolerated in their country. They must show that they could not find protection from institutions at home or by moving to another place within their own country. We welcome the new policy and will update you of developments in this area.

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