Home Country Guidance: Somalia 3. Refugee status 3.7. Individuals (perceived as) contravening social or religious laws/tenets Table of contents Table of Contents List of abbreviations and glossary Introduction Guidance note Common analysis 1. General remarks 2. Actors of persecution or serious harm 2.1. Map: areas of control and influence 2.2. State actors 2.3. Non-State actors 3. Refugee status General remarks 3.1. Persons associated with the government of Somalia and/or international actors 3.1.1. Federal and state officials 3.1.2. Members of the federal and state armed forces 3.1.3. Electoral delegates 3.1.4. Civilians perceived as 'spies' by Al-Shabaab 3.2. Persons fearing forced recruitment by Al-Shabaab 3.3. Deserters and defectors from Al-Shabaab 3.4. Individuals refusing to pay 'taxes' to Al-Shabaab 3.5. Humanitarian workers 3.6. Journalists and other media workers 3.7. Individuals (perceived as) contravening social or religious laws/tenets 3.7.1. Individuals (perceived as) contravening Sharia law in Al-Shabaab controlled areas 3.7.2. Individuals (perceived as) contravening religious (and customary) tenets outside Al-Shabaab controlled areas 3.8. Individuals involved in clan disputes 3.9. Persons belonging to minorities 3.9.1. Persons belonging to low status occupational minorities 3.9.2. Persons belonging to ethnic minorities 3.9.3. Persons belonging to groups specialised in Islamic services 3.9.4. Persons belonging to clans which can be considered minority groups in local contexts 3.9.5. People involved in mixed marriages 3.10. Persons with diverse SOGIESC 3.11. Women and girls 3.11.1. Gender-based violence (GBV) 3.11.2. Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) 3.11.3. Women and girls who have left Al-Shabaab 3.11.4. Child marriage and forced marriage 3.11.5. Single women and female heads of households 3.12. Children 3.12.1. Violence against children 3.12.2. Child recruitment by Al-Shabaab 3.13. Persons living with disabilities and/or with severe medical issues 3.14. Somalis who have resided for a long time in neighbouring countries or other countries in the region 4. Subsidiary protection 4.1. Article 15(a) QD/QR: death penalty or execution 4.2. Article 15(b) QD/QR: torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 4.2.1. Arbitrary arrests, illegal detention and prison conditions 4.2.2. Criminal violence 4.2.3. Corporal punishments 4.2.4. Forced evictions 4.2.5. Healthcare and socio-economic conditions 4.3. Article 15(c) QD/QR: indiscriminate violence in situations of armed conflict 4.3.1. Armed conflict (international or internal) 4.3.2. Qualification of a person as a ‘civilian’ 4.3.3. Indiscriminate violence a) Security situation in Somalia: recent events b) Assessment of indiscriminate violence per region 4.3.4. Serious and individual threat 4.3.5. Qualification of the harm as ‘threat to (a civilian’s) life or person 4.3.6. Nexus/'by reason of' 5. Actors of protection 5.1. The State 5.2. Parties or organisations 5.3. Considerations of clan support 6. Internal protection alternative 6.1. Part of the country 6.2. Safety 6.3. Travel and admittance 6.4. Reasonableness to settle 6.4.1. General situation 6.4.2. Individual circumstances 6.4.3. Conclusion on reasonableness 6.5. General conclusion on the applicability of IPA 7. Exclusion 7.1. Exclusion based on the commission of international crimes 7.2. Exclusion based on the commission of a serious crime 7.3. Exclusion based on acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations 7.4. Exclusion based on constituting a danger to the community or to the security of the Member State Annex: Country of origin information references Citation Please cite as: EUAA, '3.7. Individuals (perceived as) contravening social or religious laws/tenets' in Country Guidance: Somalia, October 2025. Copy Share Print COMMON ANALYSISLast update: October 2025 The contents of this section include: 3.7.1. Individuals (perceived as) contravening Sharia law in Al-Shabaab controlled areas 3.7.2. Individuals (perceived as) contravening religious (and customary) tenets outside Al-Shabaab controlled areas Book traversal links for 3.7. Individuals (perceived as) contravening social or religious laws/tenets Previous Parent Next
