Women's Services

 

Working towards gender justice

 

The first six months of the Comic Relief funded project focusing on the empowerment of refugee and asylum-seeking women living in Yorkshire and Humber (June - Nov 2012) got off to a powerful start with events, activities and action throughout the region.

See summary of the Raising the Rooftops conference:

Successful regional report launch of Refused: The experiences of women denied asylum in the UK

NRC provides training to organisations working with refugee women, including statutory agencies across Yorkshire and Humber to build greater awareness and better working practices. Also, supporting the implementation of Asylum Aid’s Women’s Charter and Why Refugee Women Charter and networks in the region through collaborations, joint events, research and resource development.

 

Context

 

The Government has acknowledged the need to "develop targeted strategies to help particular kinds of people...where they face distinct barriers, or especially deep and persistent inequalities." (Strengthening Women's Voices in Government, 2011).

 

The government's drive to give local areas more decision-making power makes it all the more vital that refugee women, who are already so marginalised, have mechanisms to support their voice being heard.

 

Celebrating refugee women’s contribution

NRC wishes to give tribute to the women volunteer workers, many of whom are seeking sanctuary themselves, who have supported the project and given their time, skills and expertise to it. They demonstrate the dignity, creativity and ability of refugee women.
There is still a lot of excellent work around refugee women’s issues. Below is a selection of projects to look out for: 

 

• Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) groups – ‘WAST women: We are often in vulnerable situations - isolated, traumatised, in ill health, facing destitution, homelessness, and deportation. But we refuse to be invisible and we are making our voice heard.’

• Women for Refugee Women - Women for Refugee Women (WRW) challenges the injustices experienced by women who seek asylum in the UK. They work to empower women who have sought sanctuary in the UK to speak out about their own experiences to the media, to policy-makers and at public events. WRW aim to give a voice to women who are all too often unheard and unseen.

  
  

• Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law  - The Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law is a charitable Research Centre with the aim of providing high quality applied research to inform legal decision making, benefiting people who have been oppressed, persecuted and victimised and ensuring access to justice for all.

• DEWA Project aims to be an agent of women’s empowerment through skills development, campaigning and advocacy. Our vision is clear: Equality, Dignity and Respect for all women.

 

• Rights of Women – ‘a women’s voluntary organisation committed to informing, educating and empowering women concerning their legal rights’.

 

• Oxfam’s ‘Routes to Solidarity’ project – which aims to ‘create a stronger black and minority ethnic (BME) women’s sector, with increased strategic and influencing power, particularly in the North of England.’
• The Women’s Project at Asylum Aid which aims to ‘enable women seeking asylum in the UK to obtain protection and security, to maintain their dignity and to be treated with respect during the asylum process.’ Join the +200 organisations, including Amnesty International, that have signed up to the ‘Charter of Rights of Women seeking asylum’. 

• Why Refugee Women Charter for Yorkshire and Humber underlines the strengths of refugee women and their important role within communities. It highlights some of women's specific needs and why services should understand these. It consists of both minimum standards for working with refugee women in Yorkshire and Humber and  aspirational standars.
• Refugee Council’s work with women and its Vulnerable Women’s Project. ‘The project works with women who have been the victims of rape and sexual violence in their countries of origin and here in the UK.’

 

• Northern Refugee Centre’s women’s conversation groups and women-friendly advice service (pdf).

This is in addtion to all the many vital support services which exist, including women only conversation groups, voluntary self-help groups, community groups and organisations working to empower and support refugee women to mention.

• Conversation Clubs
• NRC women-friendly advice service (pdf)           

For details of other projects working with refugee women, please see the projects listed in this news item (here).

Information on Women Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Over half of all the settled asylum seekers and refugees in the UK are women, however the specific needs of women are routinely overlooked in both asylum policy and practice.

Gender sensitive services and community initiatives specifically targeting women are crucial because:

• The asylum system and related services have traditionally ignored the experiences of women (Refugee Action, 2002).
• Women refugees are often fleeing gender-based persecution which continues to impact on their daily lives.
• Some refugee women come from highly gender-segregated and patriarchal societies.
• It is women who often have childcare responsibilities.
• Refugee women face a combination of gender and racial discrimination, particularly in the job market.
• Some refugee women experience gender-based abuse in the UK, such as domestic violence.

• Women's News
• Childcare

There are many gender focused campaign and advocacy organisations supporting the interests of refugee and new migrant women. Click for more details