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 chapter we 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, and since then it has continued to be among the leading countries of destination for asylum applicants. In 2013, France received 66,521 asylum applications, the second largest number in Europe after Germany (Ofpra, 2014). The material presented in this chapter provides a direct insight into the experiences of women who arrive in an EU country to claim asylum and follows 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.