“Elsewhere, not here”: the right to respect for family life between gender stereotypes and anti-migrant policies

Abstract

This paper addresses the role of stereotypes in the ECtHR case law on migrant families, specifically on family reunification and expulsion cases (art. 8 ECHR). It explores how stereotypes might mirror the interaction of gender and migration hierarchy and work as guiding narratives in the judicial practices. In a context of high inconsistency, these complex stereotypes might make sense of the rules and interpretive practice that exclude migrant families from the full enjoyment of family life. Tacking stock of the intersectional approach, it highlights how the mutual interactions reinforce both gender hierarchies and racist assumptions related to migration.

Keywords: migrant families, gender stereotypes, anti-migrant policies, ECtHR, intersectionality.