Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees: Experiences from France

Abstract

The previous chapters in this book have described the ways in which gendered inequalities underpin the neutrality of refugee and asylum laws, conventions and practices, and how this has a particular impact on the experiences of women refugees and asylum seekers. In this final chapter, we will examine the particular experiences of female asylum seekers in France, using data from qualitative interviews carried out with asylum seekers and refugees, with members of NGOs and associations supporting these women and also with lawyers, policy makers and officials involved in the determination of asylum claims.¹ France has been chosen as a case study as in recent years it has been constantly among the top destination countries for asylum seekers. In 2005 and 2006, France received more asylum applications than any other industrialised country. The material presented in this chapter should provide a direct insight into the experience of women who arrive in a European Union country to claim asylum and will follow their progress through the asylum application process, examining the ways in which both the official procedures and the more “informal” contacts with NGOs and civil society have particular impacts on men and women. We will also examine the ways in which material problems such as poor housing and lack of income have specific impacts on the women who seek refugee status.