Ray Burke
Ceist:12 Mr. R. Burke asked the Minister for Justice her views on whether the guarantee of protection in the Refugee Act, 1996, to persecuted persons whose defining characteristic is that they belong to the female sex, is adequate protection for female refugees in view of the fact that 80 per cent of the world's refugees are women and children; her views on whether guidelines on gender-related persecution must be drawn up and implemented without delay; and the progress, if any, being made in addressing gender-based persecution as a human rights issue. [7468/97]