Citation: 2022 RLLR 42
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: September 1, 2022
Panel: Chelsea Peterdy
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Amit Kumar Verma
Country: India
RPD Number: TC2-19299
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2022-01960
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: This is a decision in the claim for refugee protection of XXXX XXXX. The file number is TC2-19299.
[2] I have considered the testimony and the other evidence in the case, and I am ready to render my decision orally.
[3] You are claiming to be a citizen of India and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97(1) of Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[4] In rendering my decision, I have considered the Chairperson’s Guideline 4 on Gender Consideration in Proceedings Before the IRB.
DETERMINATION
[5] I find that you are a Convention refugee, on the grounds of your membership in a particular social group as a woman fearing gender-based violence.
ALLEGATIONS
[6] Your allegations are set out in your Basis of Claim form, which is found in Exhibit 2, as well as the addendum to your narrative that was submitted.
[7] In summary, you allege that you are a citizen of India and are Sikh from Punjab.
[8] You allege that your father has been a XXXX XXXX since 1993 and worked XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX.
[9] You allege that your father did play a role in the arrest of gangsters and members of the XXXX XXXX gang. As a result, you allege that these criminals started to threaten to harm you in retaliation.
[10] You allege that criminals attacked your home in XXXX of 2021, looking for you, and after this attack, your father moved you to Kolkata. However, criminals found you there, sexually assaulted you in front of your father, and threatened to kill you if your father did not withdraw the case against their gang members.
[11] Fearing for your safety, you allege that your father, then, sent you to Canada.
Identity
[12] Your identity as a national of India has been established, on a balance of probabilities, by your passport, which is found in Exhibit 1.
Credibility
[13] In terms of your general credibility, I find that you are a credible witness, and therefore, believe what you have alleged in your oral testimony and Basis of Claim form.
[14] Your testimony was spontaneous, and you were forthright in your responses. There were no major omissions or inconsistencies. There were certain things that you did not have a lot of information about, but this was in relation to events where you were not present or with respect to information that your father may have withheld from you, and I find that this is reasonable that you would not have all the information as a young woman and are, therefore, relying on what your father has shared with you.
[15] You testified about how and why these criminals started targeting you, what happened when you were in Kolkata, and why you fear returning to India today.
[16] You explained that these criminals are targeting you, because you are your father’s daughter, and they see you as a weakness for your father.
[17] You’ve explained that your parents are currently living in police quarters and are relatively safe there, but that you would not be able to live there, because you are over the age of 18 and therefore, not allowed to live there.
[18] You also provided documents to corroborate your allegations, including the order, appointing your father as a XXXX XXXX in 1993, as well as his XXXX ID card; an affidavit from your father, explaining his work history and why these criminals are targeting you, and an affidavit from your mother who also talks about why these criminals are targeting you specifically.
[19] Now for based on your testimony, as well as the corroborating documents filed, I find that you have established, on a balance of probabilities, that you are Sikh from Punjab, that your father is a XXXX XXXX who worked XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that these gangs have now threatened to harm you in retaliation for his work.
[20] Furthermore, based on the totality of the evidence, I find that you have established a subjective fear of persecution.
Objective Evidence
[21] The objective documentation in the National Documentation Package and in the articles provided by Counsel also support your allegations and the risk that you face in India.
[22] While there are laws in the books to prevent crimes against women, violence against women in India persists. At Item 1.5, it says that there are sociodemographic and sociocultural risk factors for various forms of violence and abuse towards women in India. These include patriarchal attitudes towards marriage and motherhood, stigmatisation of unmarried, separated, or divorced women, illiteracy and low education levels, low socioeconomic status, and lack of independent income.
[23] According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, sexual violence is widespread across the country and perpetrated in public and private spaces, and there is a general sense of insecurity for women in public spaces, which is (inaudible) at Item 5.9 in the National Documentation Package.
[24] At Item 2.1 of the National Documentation Package, it says that rape continues to be a persistent problem in India.
[25] At Item 5.4, it says women who experienced sexual violence are stigmatised. Rape is still constructed as women’s shame and there are so many social barriers for women to talk about it.
[26] And this is something you testified about as well, since you had experienced a sexual assault in India. You said that you felt very embarrassed about what happened to you and that it was difficult for you to talk about this experience.
[27] At Item 5.9, it says that sexual offenses are underreported, due to social stigma, deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes of the police, and justice system that blames victims, and a fear of victimisation by police personnel.
[28] The objective evidence also establishes that single women face high levels of depravation, social taboos, limited freedom to remarry and secure property rights, social restrictions on living arrangements, restrictive employment opportunities, emotional and other forms of violence and a lack of social support. And discrimination and violence against women in India is high, which is stated at Item 5.9 of the National Documentation Package.
[29] Additionally, the barriers that you would face obtaining housing and employment as a single woman without a support network, which is referenced in Item 5.11, as well as the risk of sexual and gender-based violence, which again is noted in Item 5.9, all of this constitutes persecution.
[30] You also provided articles about the XXXX XXXX gang and their criminal activities, which corroborate your allegations about this gang and their existence, and their activities in India.
[31] And I do note that these gangs were targeting you not only because of your relationship to your father who is a XXXX XXXX, but specifically because of your gender.
[32] Therefore, based on this documentation, I find that you have an objectively well-founded fear of persecution.
State Protection
[33] I find that state protection would not be available to you in India, were you to seek it. Your father is a XXXX XXXX and was unable to get help from his colleagues and superiors. It said he was advised to take a bride and sweep the charges under the rug, so that these men would stop threatening you.
[34] And this suggestion or advice from the other XXXX XXXX is supported by the objective evidence, which does talk about the corruption amongst XXXX XXXX and the prevalence of XXXX XXXX taking bribes.
[35] The objective evidence also demonstrates that in general there is inadequate protection for victims of sexual violence. Item 2.1 of the National Documentation Package says that law enforcement and legal recourse for rape victims was inadequate, and the judicial system was overtaxed and unable to address the problem effectively.
[36] Item 5.14, the National Documentation Package says that in cases where a woman is able to overcome institutional barriers and stigma and have a complaint filed, court cases can last years or even decades, resulting in low conviction rates.
[37] Therefore, based on your personal circumstances, as well as the objective evidence in the National Documentation Package, I find that you have rebutted the presumption of state protection and that adequate state protection is not available to you in India.
Internal Flight Alternative
[38] I have also considered whether a viable internal flight alternative exists for you in India.
[39] However, as a single woman, I find that you face a serious possibility of persecution throughout the country.
[40] You did try to relocate to Kolkata in XXXX 2021, however, the criminals that were threatening you were able to locate you there and sexually assault you there as well.
[41] You do not have anywhere to go in India, so you would be returning as a young, Sikh, single woman, trying to find housing in a way to support herself.
[42] At Item 1.5 in the National Documentation Package, it says that the viability of internal relocation in India is limited by factors such as a lack of familial or community networks, lack of employment opportunities and discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, caste, or gender.
[43] At Item 5.11, as I previously noted, single women face significant barriers obtaining housing and employment without a support network and at Item 5.9, it also talks about how single women face difficulties accessing housing.
[44] Item 5.11, it says that landlords do not want to rent to single women, because women are expected to live with their father or spouse, and this is something that you also testified about that there is a suspicion (ph) of single women who were living alone and that landlords think that if there is a single woman there, that men or other people are going to be coming and hanging around and trying to harm them.
[45] You also explained that you and your father were forced to stay in a gurdwara in Kolkata, because no one would rent to you as Sikhs from Punjab, and given your father’s occupation as XXXX XXXX, people were very hesitant to provide you with accommodation, and your counsel also provided articles about he discrimination that Sikhs face outside of Punjab, as there is a rise of Indian nationalism.
[46] Item 5.14 in the National Documentation Package, it says that without support in another city and without access to adequate housing, you would be vulnerable to exploitation, sexual assaults, and trafficking.
[47] Therefore, based on your personal circumstances and experiences, as well as the objective evidence on the record, I find that there is no viable internal flight alternative for you in India.
CONCLUSION
[48] Based on the totality of the evidence, I find that you are a Convention refugee on the grounds of your membership in a particular social group.
[49] Your claim is, therefore, accepted.
——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———