CEDAW/C/GC/32 gender-related forms of persecution, may breach specific provisions of the Convention. Such forms are recognized as legitimate grounds for international protection in law and in practice. 10 They may include the threat of female genital mutilation, forced/early marriage, threat of violence and/or so-called “honour crimes”, trafficking in women, 11 acid attacks, rape and other forms of sexual assault, serious forms of domestic violence, the imposition of the death penalty or other physical punishments existing in discriminatory justice systems, forced sterilization, 12 political or religious persecution for holding feminist or other views and the persecutory consequences of failing to conform to gender-prescribed social norms and mores or for claiming their rights under the Convention. 16. Gender-related claims to asylum may intersect with other proscribed grounds of discrimination, including age, race, ethnicity/nationality, religion, health, class, caste, being lesbian, bisexual or transgender and other status. 13 The Committee is concerned that many asylum systems continue to treat the claims of women through the lens of male experiences, which can result in their claims to refugee status not being properly assessed or being rejected. Even though gender is not specifically referenced in the definition of a refugee given in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it can influence or dictate the type of persecution or harm suffered by women and the reasons for such treatment. The definition in the 1951 Convention, properly interpreted, covers gender-related claims to refugee status. 14 It must be emphasized that asylum procedures that do not take into account the special situation or needs of women can impede a comprehensive determination of their claims. For example, asylum authorities may interview only the male “head of household”, may not provide same-sex interviewers and interpreters to allow women to present their claims in a safe and gender-sensitive environment or may interview women asylum seekers in the presence of their husbands or male family members who may in fact be the source or sources of their complaints. B. Principle of non-refoulement 17. The principle of non-refoulement of refugees is the cornerstone of refugee protection and is a norm of customary international law. Since its formal codification in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it has been developing and has been integrated into international human rights instruments, namely the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (art. 3) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 7). In addition, the prohibition of refoulement to a risk of cruel, __________________ 10 11 12 13 14 6/21 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 2, and general recommendation No. 28, para. 9. On trafficking as a basis for refugee status, see UNHCR, “Guidelines on international protection: the application of article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked”, guideline No. 7 (HCR/GIP/06/07). General recommendation No. 19, para. 22; general recommendation No. 21 on equality in marriage and family relations, para. 22; and communication No. 4/2004, A.S. v. Hungary, views adopted by the Committee on 14 August 2006. See footnote 3 above; communication No. 19/2008, Cecilia Kell v. Canada, views adopted by the Committee on 28 February 2012, para. 10.2. UNHCR, “Guidelines on international protection: gender-related persecution”, para. 6 (see footnote 9 above). 14-64766