Persecution, prosecution, protection: Doing international justice for sexual violence

On August 26, 2014, the United States Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedential decision recognizing domestic violence as a basis for asylum (Matter of A-R-C-G-). In the case, the Government of Guatemala failed to intervene when Ms. C-G-‘s husband broke her nose, repeatedly beat and raped her, and burned her with paint thinner. Having just returned from representing Central American women who were detained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, in their asylum claims, many claiming persecution on the grounds of gender-based violence, I was pleased that their claims would now be on firmer ground. I eagerly shared the news with a colleague of mine, explaining to him that although other women had been granted asylum based on domestic violence, this was a big win for asylum advocates, since the board had remained silent on the issue for fifteen years in spite of their efforts (Musalo 2014).