UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls
UNHCR, 2006
Solid handbook (164 p.) discussing the specific problems occurring for women and girls, especially as refugees. Recommendations how awareness can be increased in the helpers, and the target group can be helped better. No special focus on mental health. –
Women’s Refugee Commission
This Commission advocates for laws, policies, and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee and internally displaced women, including those seeking asylum.
Female Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in France
UNHCR Freedman 2009
The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the situation of female asylum-seekers and refugees in France, in order to furnish a base of information which might guide future UNHCR policies and actions in this area, and which may serve to make recommendations to French government and institutions.
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 2010
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.