2 June 2016] New publication unveils [#womensvoices recommendations on preventing and combating violence against refugee women and girls on the move. “From conflict to peace? Women’s and girls’ voices on the move” is a five-month project partnering the European Women’s Lobby and the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and aiming to raise awareness on the situation of women and girls refugees in Europe.
Women and girls fleeing conflicts and travelling to or settling in Europe are at higher risk of suffering from male violence. On the way and in the centres, they face rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, from different perpetrators; they have to resort to prostitution in order to get access to food, housing or transport; they face domestic violence; girls are being sold for marriage or trafficked for sexual exploitation…
Based on field trip assessments, strategic meetings at national and European levels, and data collected on the ground by EWL members in different countries, the #womensvoices report calls for:
- Comprehensive policies to end all forms of violence against women and girls in the EU and its member states, and specific measures to ensure that women and girls refugees and asylum seekers are protected and get access to justice.
- A humanitarian response which succeeds in protecting women and girls from male violence and exploitation.
- Gender-sensitive asylum policies and procedures to help women and girls to escape or denounce male violence and access to their full human rights.
