Challenging Myths on Sexual & Gender-Based Violence in Asylum Procedures

This book reveals how rape myths – incorrect beliefs about rape (survivors/perpetrators) – permeate asylum decision making. Lore Roels’ PhD, on which the book is based, translated ‘rape myths’ in the criminal justice context to ‘SGBV myths’ in the asylum context and analysed the latter’s acceptance/rebuttal in Belgian asylum decision making. A case law analysis, backed up by a survey and interviews with asylum officials and applicants, revealed that 76% of the analysed decisions relied on such myths. This occurred across all types of SGBV, regions of origin, and procedural stages/languages, regardless of the applicants' age or gender.

SGBV myth acceptance in the asylum context is an alarmingly pervasive phenomenon, calling for urgent action, both in and beyond the Belgian borders. In order to challenge these myths, this book elaborately describes the reasons for their rebuttal in law and legal, social, and health sciences. It is a guide for anyone aiming to move towards (more) gender-sensitive asylum decision making in a fundamentally interdisciplinary and care-oriented manner.

Dr. Lore Roels (she/her) obtained her PhD at the Migration Law Research Group and the International Centre for Reproductive Health at Ghent University (2021-2025). She is specialised in human rights, migration law, and gender studies at Ghent University (Bachelor and Master of Laws) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.M.). Her research critically analyses asylum decision making on persons fleeing sexual, gender-based and other violence, adopting care-centred methods and integrating interdisciplinary expertise beyond a purely legal perspective.

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