Trafficking of women constitutes an act of persecution based on membership of a particular social group and, if its specific applicability to the applicant is established, as in the present case, it constitutes the basis for the recognition of refugee status […]
This phenomenon is closely linked to membership of a particular gender. Among the factors that have most contributed to the trafficking of Nigerian women to Europe are economic difficulties and limited employment opportunities, along with a series of concomitant elements, such as illiteracy, discrimination, and violence suffered by women in Nigerian society, the lack of support systems, the desire to help their families, corruption, and to some extent certain beliefs related to aspects of traditional African religion. Membership of a woman in a particular gender and her belonging to a lower social group, which determines her particular vulnerability, are two of the elements that most contribute to the trafficking of Nigerian women, falling within the specific phrase “membership of a particular social group” contained in the Geneva Convention, which recognizes such membership as one of the grounds of persecution entitling the individual to refugee status.
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