This case concerns an application for review of a decision made by the Immigration and Refugee Board, which had determined a family applying for protection, a mother and two minor children, did not have a “well-founded fear of persecution” and were not persons in need of protection. The family expressed fear of domestic violence upon a return to Mexico. During appeal, the Federal Court held that the Immigration and Refugee Board was in error “when it determined that state protection was available to the minor Applicants in Mexico.” The Court noted that the children’s individual circumstances and fear were not properly assessed and ought to have been taken into consideration by the Board: specifically, “[t]he evidence adduced with respect to the situation of each individual child should have triggered separate analyses of risk.” Furthermore, the Court noted that the Board should have considered “the ability of the Mexican state to protect these children” as individuals. The application for review was allowed to proceed.
Women and Justice: Keywords
Domestic Case Law
Cruz v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) Immigration and Refugee Board (2012)
Rapto Inexistente Supreme Court of Mexico
The Court made several clarifications related to the crime of abduction. First, the court held that because the crime of abduction required the intent to segregate the victim from her customary mode of life and insert her in another, the crime of abduction does not take place when a man takes a woman temporarily for the purpose of sexual abuse. The Court reasoned that the temporary removal of the woman by the man did not constitute its own crime, but instead was an element of the separate crime of rape. The Court also held that the simple act of changing locations with a woman did not constitute abduction, especially when there was no evidence of restraint against her will.
La Corte hizo acalariones con respecto a el delito de secuestro. Primero, el tribunal sostuvo que debido a que el delito de secuestro requería la intención de separar a la víctima de su modo de vida habitual e insertarla en otro, el delito de secuestro no se ejecuta cuando un hombre toma temporalmente a una mujer con el propósito de tener relaciones de abuso sexual. El Tribunal razonó que la remoción temporal de la mujer por parte del hombre no constituía su propio delito, sino que era un elemento del delito separado de la violación. El Tribunal también sostuvo que el simple hecho de cambiar de lugar con una mujer no constituía un secuestro, especialmente cuando no había evidencia de restricción contra su voluntad.
Rapto y Estupro Son Delitos Independientes Supreme Court of Mexico
The Court affirmed that abduction and statutory rape were different crimes. The Court reasoned that statutory rape could take place without an abduction, and abduction could take place without resulting in statutory rape. The Court explained that when the victim is taken away by a male for the purpose of sexual abuse or marriage, statutory rape occurs at the moment of sexual activity, while abduction occurs at the moment she becomes segregated from her customary mode of life.
La Corte afirmó que el secuestro y la violación eran delitos diferentes. El Tribunal razonó que la violación estatutaria podría tener lugar sin un secuestro, y el secuestro podría tener lugar sin que se produjera una violación estatutaria. El Tribunal explicó que cuando un hombre se lleva a la víctima con fines de abuso sexual o matrimonio, se produce una violación legal en el momento de la actividad sexual, mientras que la abducción ocurre en el momento en que la victima se separa de su modo de vida habitual.