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Speaking the Unspeakable

Disclosures of Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Asylum Credibility Assessments

Bibliographic Data

ID12965168
AuthorsCharlotte Ludt (Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies), Margunn Bjørnholt (0000-0003-1801-5465, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, corresponding author), Birgitta Niklasson (0000-0001-9035-8556, University of Gothenburg)
Year2022
Volume40
Issue3
Pages441-460
Publication date2022-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNordic Journal of Human Rights (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1891-814X • E-ISSN: 1891-8131
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/18918131.2022.2151222
OpenAlexW4311134083
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited2

This article explores the extent to which the human rights framework relating to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is upheld in the Norwegian asylum system, by investigating if and how asylum bureaucrats enable the disclosure of SGBV and how such disclosure may impact the assessment of applicants’ credibility. Credibility assessment is important in deciding who is eligible for protection. Eliciting disclosures of SGBV in general is notoriously difficult, and SGBV allegations are often disbelieved. It is also well known that credibility assessment in the asylum system involves working with ambiguity and challenges, but this has rarely been explored with a particular focus on SGBV. Through an analysis of public case summaries and 18 semi-structured interviews with asylum caseworkers and key actors, drawing on Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats, we conclude that caseworkers’ use of coping mechanisms makes them reluctant to enable, or engage with, disclosures of SGBV, and that this may endanger human rights

Credibility · Criminology · Gender violence · Political science · Sexual violence · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Gender Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year1
Citation span2024 - 2025 (2)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2

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