I. Physical/Sexual Abuse in the Country of Origin

2. It should be noted that persecution involving sexual/physical abuse has been claimed by some female asylum applicants, notably nationals of countries in the Latin American, African and Middle Eastern regions, inter alia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Iraq, Sudan, Liberia and Somalia. It should further be noted that the majority of these applicants claimed asylum on the grounds of their political beliefs (both imputed and otherwise) and not due to their membership of a particular social group (i.e. gender). There have been no recorded instances of the US having recognized gender-based persecution as a valid ground for the grant of asylum, or having recognized women as a particular social group,

3. These applicants have claimed that the violence that they suffered at the hands of their persecutors generally took the form of beatings, rape, sexual harassment and molestation. The persecutors were, in general, members of the police, military, or guerilla forces. In most of these cases, the acts were either government-sanctioned or the authorities proved unwilling or unable to provide any redress.

II. Physical/Sexual Abuse in the Country of Asylum

4. Certain refugee advocacy groups and human rights groups have alleged that female asylum applicants and migrants have been the target of physical and/or sexual abuse in the US, notably at the US/Mexico borders in Texas, California and Arizona. The above-mentioned groups report that these abuses were being carried out (a) by members of the US Border Patrol (which depends on the US Department of Justice), against women/girls attempting to enter this country clandestinely through the aforementioned borders; (b) by guards at detention centers where undocumented aliens are routinely detained pending their deportation, or (in the case of asylum seekers) pending the determination of their asylum claims.

5. Insofar as reports of physical abuse at border crossings are concerned, various charges of abduction, rape, beatings, and the sexual molestation of female migrants have been levelled against the US Border Patrol. The majority of the victims of these attacks are apparently of Mexican origin. In certain instances, formal complaints were made against the perpetrators of such attacks. Human Rights groups allege, however, that most of the charges were settled financially and that the perpetrators are rarely disciplined.

6. It should be noted that reports vary with respect to physical/sexual abuse of women/girls in detention centers, In certain of these centers, measures are reportedly adopted in order to house men/women/children separately, and to have female guards assigned to the sections where the women detainees were accommodated, thereby minimizing the risks of physical/sexual abuse. However, these measures are not uniformly adopted by all detention centers in the US, and allegations of physical and sexual abuse of women and girls by both inmates and guards have been made at other detention facilities, These allegations have notably led to two lawsuits (currently pending) against the US Government regarding alleged physical/sexual abuses at detention facilities in South Texas.

7. While both administrative and legal remedies are available to victims of physical and sexual abuse in the US, human rights groups have noted that victims of the above-mentioned abuses rarely make formal charges against their attackers, due to their fear of deportation or retaliatory criminal charges. These groups state that the victims therefore commonly refuse legal assistance or any form of publicity regarding the abuses to which they were subjected.

III. Solutions to Abuses Recorded in the US

8. Recommendations made by concerned agencies to the US Government in order to discourage the above-mentioned abuses include the provision of information regarding procedures by which victims of such abuses are able to file official complaints against their attackers, the facilitation of these procedures, and the adoption of measures to prevent reprisals against the victims who do file complaints. These agencies also recommend that all officials of the Border Patrol and guards at the detention centers wear badges and numbers on their uniforms which would permit their clear identification.

9. In regard to the detention facilities, these same agencies recommend that the conditions therein be in conformity to the Beijing Rules, that all _guards and administrators at detention facilities used by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are adequately trained and supervised, and that allegations concerning sexual/physical abuse be referred to an independent Review Board. They also advise that particular care should be taken to ensure that retaliatory punishment, including solitary confinement, is not meted out to persons who file complaints (or otherwise protest) against abuses and that all the detainees should have access to counsel at all times.

IV. UNHCR Role in Regard to Allegations of Abuse

10. B.O. Washington is in constant contact with the concerned human rights/refugee advocacy groups that are currently active in this area, and is closely monitoring the situation, with a view to intervening if appropriate. It would seem at this stage, however, that the majority of the victims of physical/sexual abuse, both at the borders and at the detention centers, are primarily Mexican nationals who have entered the country illegally for economic reasons.

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