1821246 (Refugee)

The applicant, a woman from Sierra Leone, sought a protection visa, claiming she feared persecution due to her lesbian identity and her activism against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She alleged she had been subjected to physical assault, harassment, and sexual violence by community members and police officers in Sierra Leone. The decision under review affirmed the refusal of her protection visa application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958. This required determining if she was a refugee, as defined by section 5H, due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group (lesbian women) and/or imputed political opinion (related to her anti-FGM activism). Alternatively, the Tribunal considered if she qualified for complementary protection under section 36(2)(aa) due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal from Australia.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims of past persecution, including forced FGM, a same-sex relationship that led to community ostracism and violence, and subsequent attacks by community members and police, including rape. It also reviewed country information regarding the treatment of lesbian women and FGM in Sierra Leone. However, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa. The decision notes that the applicant did not satisfy section 36(2) on the basis of being a member of the same family unit as a person who holds a protection visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.