New Rules Help Women Seek Asylum

The Clinton Administration issued new guidelines Friday to immigration officers to help them identify women who should be granted asylum in this country because sexual violence has been used for political persecution in their homeland.

By doing so, the United States joined the United Nations and Canada in recognizing that women may experience gender-based discrimination that can rise to the level necessary for refugee status, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said.

The guidelines “educate asylum officers about gender-based discrimination” to help them determine which individuals meet refugee standards, the INS said. U.S. law says asylum or refugee status can be granted only to those who show a well-founded fear that returning home would subject them to persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, social affiliations or political opinions.