The panel considers that this practice constitutes an act of persecution linked to gender membership. […]. In the case at hand, the facts reported by the applicant fully fall within the scope of Article 7 of Legislative Decree No. 251/2007 […] and, as the applicant was a victim of personal and direct persecution based on membership of a social group (as a woman) in the form of acts specifically directed against a particular sex.
The judge has repeatedly affirmed the principle that “Possession of the requirement of registered residence, as well as of a valid residence permit at the time of applying for citizenship by election, should not be considered constitutive and indispensable elements for the granting of the status civitatis in question; rather, in order to protect the child’s overriding interest, the actual existence of uninterrupted residence from birth until fulfillment of the time requirement established by Law No. 91 of 1992 must be regarded as sufficient. This may be demonstrated, among other things, through school or medical certificates, as already supported by prevailing case law and administrative practice prior to the legislative reform.”
Indeed, regarding the “grounds of persecution,” victims of trafficking may fall within the “particular social group” referred to in letter (d) of Article 8 of Legislative Decree No. 251/07 […] This is therefore a form of gender-based persecution, as “the forced or deceptive recruitment of women and minors for the purposes of forced prostitution or sexual exploitation constitutes a form of gender-based violence, which may amount to persecution.
“Well, based on the foregoing, it is considered that, in the present case, the conditions are met for granting the applicant refugee status pursuant to Articles 2(e), 7, and 8 of Legislative Decree No. 251/2007, as there is, in light of the facts presented and the COI consulted, a real, well-founded, and current risk of persecution should the applicant return to Tunisia, in view of the physical and psychological gender-based violence she could once again suffer as a member of the social group of women.”
“In the case at hand, the marriage imposed on the applicant through repeated physical and psychological violence, which forced her to flee, certainly constitutes gender-based violence and, as such, falls within the scenarios warranting recognition of international protection (Cass. 12647/2022). In particular, such violence must also be qualified in terms of a serious violation of dignity, and therefore as degrading treatment constituting serious harm, the threat of which, for the purposes of granting subsidiary protection, may also come from actors other than the State, where public authorities or organizations controlling the State, or a substantial part of it, are unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection.”
“In the context of international protection, the risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation may constitute an act of persecution on the grounds of membership in a social group (Articles 7 and 8 of Legislative Decree No. 251 of 2007) or an act specifically directed against a particular sex or against children (Article 7(f)), representing, for the person subjected or at risk, treatment that is objectively inhuman and degrading. Therefore, where it is established that such practices are carried out within the social and cultural context of the applicant’s country of origin, resulting in unjustly discriminatory treatment, whether direct or indirect, of women, the conditions for granting refugee status must be considered to exist.”
Cittadinanzattiva
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CILD
Legal and administrative office
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Email: info@cild.eu
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