Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

Your family life is your relationships with members
of your family. Your relationships with your husband,
civil partner (your same-sex partner with whom you
have entered into the legal relationship of civil
partnership) and children are always considered to
be family life for the purposes of Article 8.
Where the child is a young adult (aged 18 years old
or over) who has not yet founded a family of their
own, their relationship with their parents and other
close family members is also family life 6 . Where the
relationship is between adult brothers and sisters, or
between adult children and their parents, their
relationship will be considered to be family life
where there is a dependence on each other that is
more than the normal emotional ties between adult
family members 7 . This could happen where an adult
child cares for her parent, brother or sister because
they have a physical or mental health problem. So,
a woman who cares for her adult brother who has
a mental health problem would be considered to
have family life with him because her brother is
dependent on her.
Two adult siblings who are not dependent on each
other are not likely to be considered to have family
life with each other.
Once the decision-maker has decided that you do
have private and family life, he / she will go on to
consider whether or not it would be possible for
you to have that private and family life in your
home country. The decision-maker will consider not
only how your private and family life would be
affected by your return to your country, but also
how your family would be affected by your return 8 .
If your family life is with someone who is British, or
present and settled in the UK (someone who has
Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, ILR), the court
will consider how being separated from them will
affect both your and their family life.
If your family life is with people who do not
normally live in the UK and who will be returned
with you (for example, where you will be returned
with your children), the court will consider what
effect returning you and them would have on your
and their family life.
The fact that your family life in your country would
not be the same as your family life in the UK will
not be enough to enable you to remain in the UK.
In order to be granted protection in the UK, the
effect of returning you to your country must be that
you would be completely denied your family life
there.
Example of a case: Beoku-Betts [2008]
BB arrived in the UK when he was 17. He was
from Sierra Leone and had suffered considerable
harm there. BB had come to the UK initially as a
student and some of his family, including his
mother and his sisters, came with him. They
were all given Indefinite Leave to Remain in the
UK (ILR). BB had problems with his student visa
and so applied to remain in the UK because of
his relationship with his mother and sister (who
would not return to Sierra Leone). His father
had died and BB’s mother relied on him for
emotional support. Although he was at
university, he came home at weekends and for
the holidays. BB was given permission to remain
in the UK under Article 8 by the House of Lords
because, although he was now an adult, his
mother was dependent on him and returning
him would be a disproportionate interference
with his and his mother’s rights.
Example of a case: EM (Lebanon) [2008]
EM and her son came to the UK so that she could
continue to live with him as he was about to be
handed over to his father. EM’s relationship with
her husband broke down because he was very
violent towards her. She left her husband when
she was pregnant and he never saw or had any
relationship with their son. EM divorced her
husband, but under Lebanese law, children have
to be returned to live with their father once they
reach the age of seven. In Lebanon, there is no
way that a woman can remain living with her
children after that age unless the father allows it.
There was no guarantee that EM would be
allowed to see her son following handing him
over to his father. Instead of giving her son to his
father, EM fled to the UK with her son and
claimed asylum. Her claim was refused and her
case went to the House of Lords. The House of
Lords held that her right to family life with her
son would be completely denied if she were
returned to Lebanon.
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