1. Gender stereotyping in the Dutch asylum procedure: ‘Independent’ men versus ‘dependent’ women Peter Mascini and Marjolein van Bochove Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands Faculty of Social Sciences mascini@fsw.eur.nl

2. To what extent do women still have a greater success rate in the Dutch asylum procedure than men after the introduction of both the gender guideline ‘Women in the asylum procedure’ and the ‘Aliens Act 2000’? Are male claimants more likely to resemble independent, rational individuals and female asylum seekers dependent, caring family members? To what extent are traditional gender characteristics responsible for the greater success rate of women in the Dutch asylum procedure? Research questions

3. Traditionally gendered migration pattern Males: Labor or asylum migration Single Arrival precedes wife and children Females: Family reunification, family forming, female labor Married, with children Follows husband (with children)

4. Gender stereotyping and success rates in asylum procedures Dependent family member (female refugees) Depolitization of flight motives –Privatisation –Emotionalization Victimization of patriachal domination Independent rational individual (male refugees) Prototypical political refugee Depolitization of flight motives –Attributing economic flight motives –Criminalization

5. Assumptions: The traditionally gendered migration pattern is reproduced in the asylum procedure The images associated with this pattern are responsible for the smaller success rate of men in the asylum procedure Hypotheses: Male asylum seekers are more likely to apply for asylum without a spouse or children, are less likely to travel after their spouses to the country of destination and are more likely to originate from countries considered to be relatively safe This traditionally gendered migration pattern implies that male refugee seekers fit the image of a ‘bogus’ or ‘economic’ refugee in more respects, while female asylum seekers are a closer match to the image of ‘defenseless victims’. Therefore, female claimants have a higher success rate in de Dutch asylum procedure.

6. Data The information system of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (Indis) The unit of analysis was asylum applications, not files Not: cases where the sex of the applicant was not registered Not: unmarried minors Not: applications without substantial decision

7. Chance that applications for residency were accepted or rejected: by gender (N=206,705)

8. Chance that applications for residency were accepted or rejected: by gender, per cohort

9. Explanation of success rate; main effects (Log Odds ratio’s (B’s), N=161.897)

10. Explanation of success rate; interaction effects (Log Odds ratio’s (B’s), N=161.897)

11. Conclusions Men have a smaller success rate in the Dutch asylum procedure than women because they are less often accompanied by a spouse or children, they are less likely to travel after their spouses to the country of destination, and they are more likely to come from countries considered to be relatively safe. This suggests men’s chances for success are smaller because they fit the image of a calculating ‘bogus’ refugee in more respects while female asylum seekers more closely match the image of a ‘victim of patriarchal domination’. Additional indications for this interpretation of the data: –Traditional role attitudes are already inherent in formal policy. –Having kin and originating from a country considered to be unsafe is even more advantageous for men than for women. –Men belonging to the category ‘unsuccessful’ asylum seekers still have a much smaller success rate than ‘unsuccessful’ women.

12. Policy implications It is understandable that interest groups will still call attention to the negative influence of stereotyping on female asylum seekers, but it would be even more obvious if they were to focus on the stereotyping of male asylum seekers. This does not require attention to gender-specific forms of persecution, but to a more general negative stereotyping of men by immigration officials. Why has the smaller success rate of men not provoked action thus far? –Perhaps it offers fewer opportunities to exemplify the moral superiority of the West in regards to the South, than when it concerns the patriarchal domination of women. –Perhaps the idea of male dominance is so deeply entrenched in western culture that the possibility is overlooked that perceptions of masculinity can also be detrimental to men.