Description
At least half of the world's refugees are women and girls, and their specific vulnerabilities and needs continue to be neglected in legal aspects of governance of refugee protection. This paper analyses the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) jurisprudence concerning female refugees, employing a doctrinal legal method to scrutinise relevant Court's case law from a critical feminist perspective. Through a critical examination of the ECtHR's landmark rulings, this paper reveals significant gaps in the ECtHR’s application of protection norms, such as the Responsibility to Protect and the Protection of Civilians. It argues that the Strasbourg Court’s interpretations often fail to incorporate feminist perspectives, which are essential for understanding the intersectional challenges faced by women and girls in post-conflict contexts when they are seeking asylum in the Council of Europe's legal space. The analysis highlights how the Court's continuous failure to acknowledge particular needs of female refugees reinforce the latter's struggles once they managed to escape conflict zones. By integrating feminist and postcolonial perspectives, this research suggests a re-evaluation of the ECtHR’s approach to ensure that the rights and experiences of female refugees are adequately represented and protected. In this light, this research aims to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive understanding of governance in refugee protection grounded in quality of justice for vulnerable populations.
