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2019 RLLR 34

Citation: 2019 RLLR 34
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 5, 2019
Panel: Elise Escaravage
Country: Haiti
RPD Number: VB8-03742
ATIP Number: A-2021-01124
ATIP Pages: 000191-000195


— PROCEEDINGS COMMENCED

[1]       PRESIDING MEMBER: Reasons for decision.

INTRODUCTION

[2]       I have considered your testimony and the other evidence in the case and I am ready to render my decision orally. These are the reasons for the decision in the claim of Madam [XXX] a citizen of Haiti who is claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97 of the Immigration Protection Act.

[3]       In rendering my reasons I have considered and applied the Chairperson’s Guidelines on women refugee claimants fearing gender related persecution throughout the hearing and in my decision as this is a case of domestic violence.

ALLEGATIONS

[4]       The Claimant detailed her allegations in her Basis of Claim form which can be summarized as follows. The Claimant is 69 years old from Haiti fearing domestic violence at the hand of her ex-partner [XXX] (phonetic) who is 15 younger than her. The Claimant endured close to 10 years of domestic violence which included armed death threats, even after she left him in [XXX] 2013.

DETERMINATION

[5]       I find that you are a Convention refugee as you have established a serious possibility of persecution on account of your membership in a particular social group as a woman facing domestic violence.

ANALYSIS

IDENTITY

[6]       I find that your identity as a national of Haiti has been established by your testimony and the supporting documentation in file including a certified copy of your passport at Exhibit 1.

CREDIBILITY

[7]       I find you to be a credible witness and therefore believe what you said in support of your claim. You testified in a straightforward manner and there were no relevant inconsistencies between your testimony and the other evidence before me which have not been satisfactorily explained.

NEXUS

[8]       Given your history of domestic violence I find that your fear of persecution in Haiti has a nexus to the Convention ground of membership in a particular social group as a woman facing gender based persecution. For this reason your claim will be assessed under Section 96 of The Act.

WELL-FOUNDED FEAR OF GENDER BASED PERSECUTION

[9]       I find that you have established an objectively well-founded fear of gender based persecution for the reasons that will follow. You testified that you entered a romantic relationship with a friend and former customer of yours in 2009, named [XXX] (phonetic). Your house was affected by the 2010 earthquake to the point where you had to move out. You moved in with him. At the beginning he was not aggressive to you as you helped him financially through the small business you had where you sold [XXX]. However when you started telling him that you no longer had money to give him he became violent to you. He assaulted you physically to the point of breaking your left arm. You submitted a photograph of yourself with a cast at Exhibit 4 and brought the original picture at the hearing.

[10]     It was difficult for you to talk about the domestic violence as you were so embarrassed and ashamed that you were dating a younger man which is stigmatized in Haiti.  As such you kept the violence to yourself and did not talk about it with your children until it went too far. In [XXX] 2013 you decided to finally leave [XXX] (phonetic) thinking that your struggles would be over. You moved in with your niece, [XXX] (phonetic) who submitted a support letter to that effect at Exhibit 4.

[11]     Over a year later in [XXX] 2014 [XXX] (phonetic) found you at work at the [XXX] (phonetic). He assaulted you physically once more, hitting you in the face and breaking your teeth. You submitted documentary evidence of your consultation at the dentist you had following the assault at Exhibit 4.

[12]     [XXX] (phonetic) continued to threaten, harass and assault you up until [XXX] 2017 even if you had separated in 2013. He attacked you once when you were at the [XXX] on your way home and left you lying in the streets.

[13]     In [XXX] 2017 you received the last threat from him. He showed up at your house when your daughter [XXX] (phonetic) was there and squeezed your hand while threatening you. [XXX] (phonetic) witnessed the assault and she reported it to the police. Given the numerous instances of gender based violence you suffered at the hands of [XXX] (phonetic), despite the fact that you separated in 2013, you are afraid that he may locate and harm you if you return to Haiti.

[14]     Objective evidence included in the National Documentation Package overwhelmingly points to alarming rates of domestic violence throughout Haiti and inadequate protection available to victims of domestic abuse. Items 5.13, 5.3 and 2.4 are examples of such.

[15]     For instance a research from the IRB’s research unit states that “sources report that domestic or family violence is widespread in Haiti. According to a Haiti mission report in 2017 domestic violence is a real societal problem. It is recorded in all social strata and is particularly prevalent in the impoverished areas of Port aux Prince as well as in remote rural areas.” Item 5.3.

[16]     The same report indicates that domestic violence is tolerated and considered normal by society and that violence against women and girls is trivialized in Haitian society. Human Rights Watch emphasises that Haiti has no specific legislation against domestic violence, sexual harassment or other forms of violence targeted at women and girls.

[17]     Based on all of the evidence before me, including the sources cited in your testimony, I find that you have established a serious possibility of gender based persecution in Haiti.

STATE PROTECTION

[18]     I find that there is clear and convincing evidence before me that the state is unable or unwilling to provide you with adequate protection. You testified that you went to the police station in order to file a police complaint for domestic violence in 2016. The police response was humiliating as they referred to you as a desraee (phonetic) which in Creole means a woman without morals. They told you that you were simply an old woman looking for attention from younger men and that they had bigger issues to deal with than your family affairs.

[19]     The Immigration and Refugee Board’s research on violence against women at Item 5.3 corroborates the experience you described and lack of adequate state protection for women like you who are victims of gender based violence such as domestic violence. The sources point to a lack of means and education of police as well as their lack of sensitivity. Furthermore it describes the number of obstacles in seeking justice for women victims of violence in Haiti. Notably corruption and disfunction of the legal system, impunity of aggressors and victims’ lack of confidence in the legal system.

[20]     As an elderly woman with no education I find that you are particularly vulnerable and may face additional barriers in seeking state protection. For these reasons I find that the presumption of state protection has been rebutted in your case.

INTERNAL FLIGHT ALTERNATIVE

[21]     Based on the totality of the evidence before me I find that it is not objectively reasonable in all of the circumstances, including those particular to you, for you to seek refuge in Haiti for the following reasons.

[22]     You are currently 69 years old and will tum 70 years old by the end of this month. You do not have access to pension in Haiti nor to health care. You have never been to school, in fact not even a day so you cannot read or write. Even through you have proven to be quite resourceful in raising three of your four children by yourself, by running a small [XXX] business it would be unreasonable to expect you to relocate to another city within Haiti considering your personal circumstances such as your age, your lack of access to employment, your lack of access to pension or any revenue and by your limited capacity to seek housing as an elderly single woman. While I note that you have three children living in Port aux Prince at the moment, I do not find it reasonable for you to relocate there in light of your personal circumstances. I find — for this reason I find that it would be objectively unreasonable to expect you to relocate anywhere in Haiti. As the internal flight alternative test fails on the second prong of the test I find that there is no viable internal flight alternative available to you in Haiti.

CONCLUSION

[23]     Based on the analysis above I conclude that you are a Convention refugee, accordingly I accept your claim.

— PROCEEDINGS CONCLUDED