Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

• look at the law that determines who is entitled
to remain in the UK; and
• decide whether, according to the law, you are
entitled to some form of protection in the UK.
The law that determines whether or not
someone is entitled to remain in the UK is set
out in:
• the Refugee Convention 1951;
• the European Convention on Human Rights
1950; and
• European Union Law.
For further information about these, see
Chapter 2.
This means that you must give your case-owner as
much information as possible about yourself, why
you left your country and why you cannot return
there.
Before the interview
If possible, you should seek legal advice on your
case from your legal representative before your
interview. Your legal advisor can discuss the
interview with you and answer any questions that
you may have. Your legal advisor can also talk to
you about your case and prepare a statement for
you to hand to your case-owner at the start of the
interview. A statement is a document that outlines
what you say about your case. If your legal
representative prepares a statement for you to
give to your case-owner, then that statement will
be the basis of your interview. Your case-owner
will read it and then ask you questions.
If your legal representative does not prepare a
statement for you, or if you have not been able to
see a legal representative before your interview,
then you may find it useful to think about what
you want to say before the interview and plan
how you will say it.
Recording the interview
Asylum interviews can be recorded on tape so
that there is an accurate record of what was said.
It is very important that you have an accurate
record of your interview in case there is a
disagreement about what you (or the interpreter)
did, or did not, say. You should, therefore, ask for
your interview to be recorded on tape. If
possible, you should do this at least 24 hours
before the interview. However, the UK Border
Agency has a legal obligation to record asylum
interviews when requested, so you can ask for
your interview to be recorded on the day, if
necessary. This may mean that your interview is
delayed.
At the interview
The interview is the basis of your claim for
protection in the UK. This means that during the
interview, you must tell your case-owner as much
as possible about yourself, what you have
experienced and why you need protection in the
UK. You may have already given some information
about yourself and what has happened to you to
your case-owner, your legal representative or to
someone else who works for the UK Border
Agency, for example, when you were screened to
have your identity checked. However, you will
need to repeat all of this at the interview.
You may be asked questions about particular
issues by the case-owner. However, you must tell
the case-owner as much as possible about your
case, whether or not she (or he) asks you
questions about particular issues. You may find
this very difficult.
Sometimes women find it hard to talk about
certain things, for example if they have been
raped or have experienced sexual violence. Even if
it is difficult for you to talk about these things, it is
very important that you tell the case-owner
about it in the interview. If you are tired or upset
during your interview you can ask for a break. If
there is more that you want to tell the case-owner
about a particular issue you should give them that
information. This means that you should tell the
case-owner about it, whether or not they have
asked a question about the issue. The case-owner
may not know about your case or what your
country is like. At the end of the interview, the
case-owner will ask you a question, such as: “Is
there anything else that you want to say?” You
should make sure at this point that you have said
everything that you want to. If the case-owner
does not give you time to tell her (or him)
everything, you should say that there is more that
you want to say, but that you are not being given
enough time.
Supporting evidence
You may have documents that confirm who you
are, or something that is part of your case, such as
a political party membership card. If you have
evidence that supports what you say, you should
show it to your legal representative and take it
with you to the interview. You should ensure that
33