Dear friends and colleagues“Women and girls who risk sexual violence as they flee their home countries are getting contraceptive injections as a precautionary measure. For someone to know that they are at such risk of sexual violence, and yet they are determined to continue on that journey.”
Hillary Margolis, New York-based Human Rights Watch
Migrant and refugee women and girls are at risk of sexual violence throughout their entire journey, on their way to find refuge or reunite with their beloved ones. A study from 2014 estimated that around 21% of women in 14 conflict countries reported sexual violence.According to the UNHCR many women and girls who are fleeing their homes because of fear of being sexually assaulted, still encounter that same fate on their journey to freedom. For instance, there are estimations that up to 80% of women and girls from Central America crossing Mexico into the US have been raped.
Rape, often occurs in combination with physical, emotional or socio-economic violence and the lack of information and unnecessary detention also put migrating women at increased risk for sexual violence. According to a study conducted in 2012, 66.3% of female migrants, including refugees, have experienced sexual violence after having entered Europe. Furthermore, such acts were often perpetrated by European professionals or citizens. This is in stark contrast to the 11% lifetime prevalence of sexual violence in European girls and women aged over 15 and indicates the possible magnitude of the issue of sexual violence against refugee and migrant women in Europe.
And we should never forget that sexual violence is also directed towards men and boys before, during or after migration -including detention-. In general, there have been less focus on this form of violence against men and, when it is addressed, it is described or defined as torture, as it may happen as part of interrogation, arrest or punishment. Methods of torture, inflicted both on women and men, often attack sexuality as this may have particular serious repercussions on those who are victimized (Genefke, I.K. 1986.)
Despite various reports calling for action and for better ways of addressing the survivors acute; situation and condition, no comprehensive response is in place, limited assistance is provided, and the problem often not recognized by aid workers. Moreover, a weak coordination between government and humanitarian actors and language barriers challenge a gender-sensitive response. Thus, referral to relevant GBV services where mental health support and information about their rights is hardly provided. As a consequence of poor protective measures, people remain in unsafe passages to their destiny with limited or no assistance to reunite with their families. This increases the risk of exploitation by traffickers and smugglers.
Sexual violence can result in unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and can adversely affect the mental health of those exposed to this form of violence, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. In addition, stigma and shame associated with rape, in many cultures, can lead to underreporting of cases, social rejection, suicide or murder of women and girls by family or community members.
Those subjected to sexual violence require immediate emotional and physical health support and protection. Sexual violence guidelines specific for migrants and refugees recommend confidentiality, providing safety and protection from further suffering, as well as acting in the best interest and according to the wishes of the victim.
Further reading on rape within the migration journey
- Gender-Based Violence against Women: Both Cause for Migration and Risk along the Journey
Migration Policy institute 2017
Each year, countless women and children flee violence at home and take an uncertain journey in the hope of finding safety in a new country. While many escape conflict zones or generalized human-rights abuses, some also run from more intimate forms of violence—namely, sexual and domestic violence perpetrated by men. Setting off on the journey is no guarantee of safety; many are vulnerable to gender-based abuse in transit and even at destination.
- Women migrants fearing rape take contraceptives before journey – rights groups
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 2017
Women migrants fleeing wars, political instability and poverty are taking contraceptives in the expectation of being raped but are so desperate they still embark on the journey, a human rights group said on Wednesday.
- Women in detention: a guide to gender-sensitive monitoring
Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), 2017
In this paper, “Women in detention” is addressed to monitoring bodies responsible for the external scrutiny of places of deprivation of liberty. It outlines the risks faced by women deprived of their liberty of being subjected to torture and ill-treatment and measures that can be taken to reduce such risks.
- Sexual violence against refugee women on the move to and within Europe
WHO European Region, 2017
The objective of this overview is to present the issue of sexual violence (SV) against refugee women and girls and to discuss countermeasures that have been suggested or initiated by the Member States of the WHO European Region and national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) between January 2015 and May 2016. A literature review was undertaken using Google scholar, the WHO publication database and a cross-search of journal databases.
- I didn´t Have Anywhere to Run: Migrant Women Are Facing a Rape Epidemic
Anna-Cat Brigida, 2016
An estimated 60 to 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are sexually assaulted on their journey—and perpetrators often act with total impunity. As thousands of Central American women weigh the risks of migrating to the US each year, they must take into account an extra peril: An estimated 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are victims of sexual abuse at the hands of criminal groups, human smugglers, or corrupt officials during the journey.
- New report: women refugees at risk in Europe
Novel´s Women Initiative, 2015
The report finds that women are vulnerable a bottleneck points along the route, and even more vulnerable when they reach reception centres that do not have secure and separate sleeping areas for women. Women also experience sexual violence at alarming rates and there is currently 100% impunity for gender-based crimes committed against refugee women. High numbers of refugee women are pregnant with no access to pre- or post-natal care.
- INITIAL ASSESSMENT REPORT: Protection Risks for Women and Girls in the European Refugee and Migrant Crisis
UNCHR, 2015
For the first time since World War II, Europe is experiencing a massive movement of refugees and migrants, women, girls, men and boys of all ages, fleeing armed conflicts, mass killings, persecution and pervasive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Many seek refuge in Europe from the ongoing armed conflicts that have torn apart their societies, and are entitled to protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention, its subsequent Protocol, and other international instruments.
- 80% of Central American women and girls are raped crossing to the US
IMPACT, September 2014
According to a stunning Fusion investigation, 80 percent of women and girls crossing into the U.S. by way of Mexico are raped during their journey. That’s up from a previous estimate of 60 percent, according to an Amnesty International report. Through May, the number of unaccompanied girls younger than 18 caught at the US-Mexico border increased by 77 percent.
- What the eye does not see: a critical interpretive synthesis of European Union policies addressing sexual violence in vulnerable migrants
Ines Keygnaert & Aurore Guieu, 2015
In Europe, refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are more vulnerable to sexual victimisation than European citizens. They face more challenges when seeking care. This literature review examines how legal and policy frameworks at national, European and international levels condition the prevention of and response to sexual violence affecting these vulnerable migrant communities living in the European Union.
- Hidden violence is silent rape: sexual and gender-based violence in refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands
Ines Keygnaert, 2012
Although women, young people and refugees are vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) worldwide, little evidence exists concerning SGBV against refugees in Europe. Using community-based participatory research, 223 in-depth interviews were conducted with refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands. Responses were analysed using framework analysis.
- Sexual Violence and Migration The hidden reality of Sub-Saharan women trapped in Morocco en route to Europe
MSF 2013
The exact proportions of sexual violence are impossible to measure, yet MSF’s medical data reveals that it is a problem of alarming proportions. Information provided by our patients reveals the high risk of sexual violence throughout the migration process, with survivors experiencing rape and other forms of sexual violence by numerous different perpetrators in their countries of origin, in route and in Morocco itself.
Are you familiar with HHRI GBV manual?
The training manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict also known as “HHRI GBV Manual” is a tool on approaches and techniques that address the psychological needs of survivors of gender-based violence. It is a tool to approach survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence in contexts of disasters, conflicts and emergency situations, where access to health professionals with psychological or psychiatric expertise usually is very limited.
The Arabic, Russian and Spanish versions of our training manual is available for free. If you would like a hard copy, please send us an e-mail explaining what kind of work you are doing and why would you need the manual it. Please note that complementary to the GBV Manual, we have developed a tool box which you also can accessed for free in English, Spanish, Korean, Georgian and Romanian if you visit our GBV manual web page. We would like to encourage you direct your questions or feedback to us through our e-mail.
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