Case summaries

Gender may be a feature defining a social group, so women can be a particular social group.

Violence, beating, and bullying constitute persecution, even if these acts are committed by the local community or individual members thereof.

It is vital to determine whether the applicant obtained help from the state when she requested it or whether there was a genuine (and not just theoretical) opportunity to seek protection.

This case concerned state persecution. The CALL held that when the agents of persecution are national authorities, there is a strong presumption that protection within the country of origin is not accessible, as the authorities are able to pursue a person throughout the entire territory under their control.

Homosexuals in Morocco form a social group within the meaning of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention for reasons of common characteristics which define them in the eyes of Moroccan criminal law and society.

This case was the first application of Art 10 of the Qualification Directive in the UK to a case involving human trafficking. The Tribunal found that trafficking victims are capable of being members of a Particular Social Group and that both sub paragaphs of Art 10(d) must be satisfied. 

Within the meaning of Section 8 of the Asylum Act, a particular social group is a group of people who share a common characteristic which is objectively given or is perceived as such by society. The characteristic in question usually has an innate, unchangeable form or is otherwise fundamental to human identity, conscience or the exercise of the human rights of the persons affected. 

It therefore usually comprises a group of people of similar social origin or status, social habits and customs, or of a similar sexual orientation, who are in a minority due to their otherness.

For the purposes of assessing whether a child is a member of a particular social group, a person's age is an immutable characteristic.

The case concerned an appeal lodged before the Supreme Court against a decision of the High National Court to reject a claim for refugee status based on membership of a particular social group (this particular group was determined by economic status).

The case concerned a woman who feared return to Sierra Leone because she would face gender specific persecution in the form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  The issue was whether she was entitled to recognition as a refugee because she feared persecution on account of her membership of a particular social group.  Her appeal was allowed on the basis that women in Sierra Leone and, alternatively, uninitiated women who had not been subjected to FGM in Sierra Leone, were particular social groups.

The case concerned the issue of whether ‘family’ constitutes a particular social group. The applicant was recognised as a refugee on the basis of her well founded fear of persecution as a member of her husband’s family.

The sexual orientation of the Applicant for asylum may, depending on circumstances and with regard to the situation in the country of origin, be considered a sign of his membership of a particular social group. The threat of injury to the Applicant for asylum as a result of actions causing psychological pressure may not be as serious as injuries that result in threats to life or freedom, but must be at least of a comparable type.