Violence Against Women in the Narrative Affidavits of West African Women Seeking Asylum in Atlanta Public

Abstract

As the world confronts the greatest number of displaced persons in history and significant anti-immigrant and refugee sentiment, displaced populations face greater insecurity than ever. It is urgent for countries offering refuge and asylum to understand the needs of these vulnerable populations. Asylum seekers face great uncertainty as the validity of their asylum claims are evaluated in court. Female asylum seekers often face additional challenges of economic and cultural barriers, as well as bias and inconsistent application of policies in the US asylum process. The Atlanta Asylum Network (AAN) facilitates access to low or no-cost physical, psychological and gynecological evaluations in order to facilitate a fair and complete judicial process. Qualitative analysis was conducted on 15 narrative affidavits from clients of AAN who are female and of West African origin. These affidavits serve as a legal record of the persecution the client faced in her home country. Based in grounded theory, the analysis consisted of data memoing, coding, and the development of thick descriptions. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the presence of various types of violence experienced by a population of West African female asylum seekers. Results include a clear distinction between interpersonal and structural violence, which interact to cause intersectional violence. These data are used to make recommendations on how female asylum seekers can most successfully frame their claims, as well as how asylum policies can be more consistently applied to female asylum seekers who have experienced violence.

Table of Contents

Introduction.........................................................................................................................1

Literature Review................................................................................................................. 3

Manuscript.......................................................................................................................... 13

Public Health Implications..................................................................................................... 25

Works Cited........................................................................................................................ 27

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health
Mot-clé	West Africa refugee asylum Atlanta gender based violence health violence against women
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Evans, Dabney, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	Emory University schools, faculty or affiliated programs

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