2112808 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa application of an Indian citizen who feared harm upon return to India. The applicant, a single mother with an Australian citizen child, claimed she faced threats of honour killing, forced prostitution, and violence from her family and former in-laws due to perceived shame she had brought upon them. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically whether she was a refugee with a well-founded fear of persecution.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's claims of gender-based violence and the specific risks she faced in India. It considered the definition of a "refugee" under section 5H of the Act, which requires a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. The Tribunal accepted the applicant's account of her experiences, including her history of arranged and violent marriages, and her fear of severe harm from her family and in-laws. The Tribunal also considered the concept of "membership of a particular social group" under section 5L, which includes characteristics that are innate, immutable, or fundamental to identity.

The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group, specifically as a single mother who had defied her family and in-laws, thereby bringing shame upon them. It found that the harm feared constituted serious harm, including threats to her life and liberty, and that such persecution would involve systematic and discriminatory conduct. The Tribunal was not satisfied that effective protection measures were available to the applicant in India, nor that internal relocation would be a reasonable option given the nature of the threats from her family and in-laws. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*.