 V-A- and her daughter, S-.
For over ten years, Human Rights USA has led the U.S. legal community in efforts to protect refugee women fleeing severe forms of gender-based violence, to ensure compliance with the Convention Against Torture in the U.S., and to enforce aliens' rights to due process and judicial review.
In 2002, we won the highest U.S. court decision to date dealing with women's rights in the refugee context, establishing for the first time that female genital mutilation (FGM) constitutes a form of torture and that a mother could not be deported if her daughter faced the prospect of female genital mutilation. In 2005, we established exemption from the one-year filing deadline for asylum-seekers who have experienced severe sexual abuse. Because of our unique experience with gender-based asylum claims, our group now represents and assists increasing numbers of refugee women fleeing violence, including FGM, forced marriage, and sex trafficking.
This year, in partnership with Equal Justice Works and the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, Human Rights USA launched a new project aimed at developing new forms of protection for trafficked persons in the United States. Currently, the only form of protection available to trafficked persons - the T Visa - is closely tied to law enforcement objectives, leaving those who cannot assist prosecutors vulnerable to deportation and further abuse. Through impact litigation, Human Rights USA is working to establish a new legal precedent: that women and men fleeing trafficking are eligible for refugee protection in the United States.
For more information on these efforts, see:
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