The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Appeal Division dismissing her appeal.
The RAD had confirmed the Refugee Protection Division's finding that she was not a Convention refugee, partially basing a negative credibility inference on a delay in filing her claim after being sexually assaulted.
The Federal Court granted the application, finding that both tribunals had improperly relied on the discredited "doctrine of recent complaint"—the stereotypical assumption that sexual assault victims will report immediately.
The Court noted that this doctrine had long been eliminated from criminal law and should have no place in immigration law.
