Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

you have copies of any evidence you give to the
UK Border Agency. Alternatively you can keep the
originals and give certified copies of documents
to the UK Border Agency. A certified copy is a
photocopy of the document that is sworn to be
true by your solicitor. Your legal representative can
also give your case-owner any other evidence that
may be useful in your case, such as a medical
report.
At the end of the interview
At the end of the interview, your case-owner will
give you a copy of the interview notes that were
taken and a copy of the interview tape. You
should keep these safe and give them to your
legal representative.
The Gender Guidelines
The UK Border Agency has two Asylum Policy
Instructions that should be followed by caseowners
and other UK Border Agency staff when
dealing with women’s claims for protection in the
UK. These are:
• Gender Issues in the Asylum Claim (known as
the Gender Guidelines); and
• Victims of Trafficking.
The Gender Guidelines go through the different
types of harm that women may face and how the
law should be interpreted for women who seek
protection in the UK.
The Gender Guidelines state that:
• Case-owners and interviewers should be
aware of the effect that having experienced
sexual violence may have had on you.
• Case-owners should take into account
information about your country, including
information about women’s political and legal
rights.
• You should also be interviewed alone,
particularly if you have experienced sexual
violence or are likely to have experienced it.
The Gender Guidelines also contain important
procedural safeguards (protections for asylumseeking
women); including the right to have a
female case-owner and interpreter at your
interview. You (or your legal representative) should
ask for a female case-owner and interpreter
before the day of your interview if you can, but
the UK Border Agency says that requests made on
the day of interview will be met where possible.
If the UK Border Agency does not follow the
Gender Guidelines, you should discuss it with your
legal representative. They may be able to make
representations on your behalf to the UK Border
Agency based on the guidelines or, if necessary,
complain about the way you were treated.
You can download the Gender and
Trafficking Guidelines from the UK
Border Agency website here:
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/
documents/policyandlaw/asylumpolicy
instructions/
Information for women asylum-seekers
about the guidelines is also available
from Asylum Aid (an independent
charity) and can be downloaded here:
www.asylumaid.org.uk
Things to remember
• Your asylum interview is very important as it
is your chance to tell your case-owner why you
had to leave your country and why you cannot
return there.
• You should tell your case-owner any
information that is relevant to your application
and provide any evidence that you have which
could support your claim.
• There is a legal obligation on the UK Border
Agency to record asylum interviews. You should
ask for your interview to be recorded.
• Under the Gender Guidelines, you can ask for
a female case-owner. You can also ask for a
female interpreter. You (or your legal
representative) should request a female
interpreter or case-owner in writing before your
interview. Requests made on the day of the
interview should be accommodated whenever
possible.
34