Migrant women: at particular risk from domestic violence
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 20 November 2009 (see Doc. 11991, report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for
Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Woldseth; and Doc. 12054, opinion by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Population, rapporteur: Mrs Acketoft). See also Recommendation 1891 (2009).
- Thesaurus
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes
that migrant women in Europe face twofold discrimination based both
on their gender and their origin. In addition, in communities marked
by a strong patriarchal culture, they may be exposed to an aggravated
risk from domestic violence. Confronted with the language barrier
and family pressure, they often end up isolated and unable to express
their views and have only limited access to any facilities that
exist to protect the victims of domestic violence. Migrant women
may also have faced violence in their home country or in transit
or in the host country. Irregular migrant women face a further problem
in that they risk being sent back to their home country if they
manifest themselves to the authorities.
2. In Europe, one woman in four or five has suffered physical
violence at least once in her life. The Assembly reiterates that
any form of violence against women, including domestic violence,
is unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of human rights.
No cultural relativism may be invoked to justify practices that infringe
the fundamental rights of migrant women and women of migrant origin.
3. During its Stop Domestic Violence against Women campaign (2006-2008),
the Council of Europe highlighted the need to protect the victims
of violence, prosecute the perpetrators of violence and prevent violence
against women. The Assembly believes that member states must do
everything in their power to ensure that all women living within
their territory have access in law and in practice to the relevant
victim protection and rehabilitation facilities.
4. The Assembly consequently invites the member states to:
4.1 adopt suitable strategies for
combating domestic violence and ensuring the protection and rehabilitation
of victims from migrant communities, in particular through:
4.1.1 the granting of individual legal
status to migrant women who have joined their spouse through family
reunion, if possible within one year of the date of arrival;
4.1.2 the gathering of statistics, broken down by gender and
community, to provide a better insight into the nature and magnitude
of the phenomenon and enable adequate strategies to be adopted;
4.1.3 the provision of suitable assistance, including psychological
and rehabilitation assistance, and protection services, including
an interpretation service for victims;
4.2 adopt dedicated action plans addressing the specific needs
of migrant women who are victims of violence, including domestic
violence and trafficking.
5. The Assembly also invites the member states to adopt active
policies for the prevention of violence against women in migrant
communities, in particular through:
5.1 the introduction of integrated and co-ordinated policies
to build migrant women's capacities and promote equality between
women and men;
5.2 increased support to the non-governmental organisations
that protect, assist and mentor victims of domestic violence, with
due regard to gender equality and to the furtherance of human rights;
5.3 the promotion of active policies for integrating migrants
and combating racism and xenophobia;
5.4 men’s involvement in the strategies to combat violence
against women in migrant communities;
5.5 reinforced co-operation with migrant women’s countries
of origin, aimed at encouraging these states to:
5.5.1 improve the status of women
and reinforce their position in society;
5.5.2 adopt policies to combat violence against women;
5.5.3 ensure the effective use of legal mechanisms for combating
and preventing violence against women;
5.5.4 disseminate information on legislative advances in gender
equality targeting their nationals, particularly women, who are
resident in Council of Europe member states.
