This week, we are pleased to announce that we successfully obtained asylum protection for a client who was the victim of severe domestic abuse in her home country. If she had returned to her native country, she would have been killed on sight by either her husband or her own family members. Several countries throughout the world still allow these ÄúhonorÄù killings- murder to redeem the honor of the families involved. These killings are allowed by their governments, thus, deportees returning to their homelands have no official form of protection.
The United Nations estimates 5000 of these killings per year around the world, with more than half of these involving some sort of torture. However these may not be accurate official statistics on honor killings because honor killings are either not reported or not labeled honor killings. Even if it is reported the police choose not to investigate because it was to restore the honor of a family.
Now, women like our client who are victims of domestic violence in their country may be able to successfully obtain asylum protection in the U.S. based on Äúmembership in a particular social group.Äù
