Abstract/Summary

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was enacted despite significant opposition from refugee charity and legal sectors. It is without question that the Act changes the domestic landscape of the refugee status determination system and has the potential to also negatively influence refugee status determinations in other jurisdictions. There are several sections of the Act that are particularly problematic for women’s claims of asylum. The Act reverses well-established international and regional human rights and refugee law prin-ciples and standards. The reversal in some cases of decades of jurisprudence on the inter-pretation of the Refugee Convention poses a concern for the integrity of the law and ad-ministrative justice. While the Act imposes barriers for all claimants, it disproportionately affects some of the most complex cases, including refugee women fleeing gender-based persecution. Of the various changes brought about by the Act, this article focuses on three that are particularly relevant to women asylum seekers; first the regressive way in which membership of a particular social group has been framed, second the heightened standard of proof now required, and third the associated evidential burdens in relation to trauma and disclosure. Ultimately, these changes are likely to have a disproportionate and dis-criminatory impact on women seeking asylum, particularly those fleeing gender-based persecution.