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Resolution 2159 (2017)
Protecting refugee women and girls from gender-based violence
1. In the past two years, more than
1 million asylum seekers have come to Council of Europe member States
looking for protection and opportunities for their children to grow
up in peace. They left war-torn countries after suffering violence
and witnessing atrocities. They took serious risks to come to Europe,
where their presence has been at times welcomed but often criticised,
making them the targets of hate speech and scapegoats for any problems
that arise.
2. In their countries of origin, during the journey, in transit
and in destination countries, many refugee and asylum-seeking women
and girls have been exposed to gender-based violence in the form
of coercion, forced prostitution, harassment, survival sex, sexual
slavery or various types of extortion. However, their protection from
violence has not been considered a priority in the management of
the refugee crisis. While the Parliamentary Assembly praises the
countries which have so far taken in large numbers of refugees and asylum
seekers, it regrets that the gender dimension of the refugee crisis
has been largely overlooked and has left gaps in protection, thereby
increasing risks for many women.
3. The Assembly is convinced that providing protection from gender-based
violence to all women, irrespective of their status, should be a
priority, in line with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on
Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
(CETS No. 210, Istanbul Convention). The responsibility to help
and protect asylum-seeking and refugee women is not limited to cases of
violence perpetrated in destination countries. They should receive
adequate assistance to overcome the trauma they have experienced
in their countries of origin or during transit. Against this background,
the Assembly recalls its Resolution
1765 (2010) and Recommendation
1940 (2010) on gender-related claims for asylum, which
advocate gender-sensitive asylum procedures.
4. The Assembly also stresses that the arrival of asylum seekers
in Europe represents an opportunity to promote and uphold tolerance,
diversity and openness, and to take a strong stance against multiple
forms of discrimination. In addition to ensuring protection from
violence and assistance to victims, States should invest in integration
programmes to provide women refugees with prospects for the coming
years and help them to find their place in our societies.
5. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member and observer States to take the following
concrete measures to address gaps in protection and mitigate risks:
5.1. sign and ratify without further
delay, for the States which have not yet done so, the Council of Europe
Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and
Domestic Violence, and ensure its full implementation, which includes
the recognition of gender-based violence as a form of persecution
within the meaning of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees, as well as the Council of Europe Convention
on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197) and
the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201);
5.2. with regard to women’s safety in transit and reception
facilities:
5.2.1. ensure the presence of female social
workers, interpreters, police officers and guards in these facilities;
5.2.2. provide separate sleeping areas for single women with
or without children, and separate, well-lit bathrooms for women;
5.2.3. create safe spaces in every transit and reception facility;
5.2.4. when needed, ensure access for refugee and asylum-seeking
women to shelters for women victims of gender-based violence;
5.2.5. organise training programmes on identifying and assisting
victims of gender-based violence for social workers, police officers
and guards working in the facilities;
5.2.6. provide information material in languages of the countries
of origin on assistance services for victims of gender-based violence,
including on reporting and complaint mechanisms;
5.2.7. in accordance with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees’ Comprehensive Protection Framework on Access to Justice
for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Victims and Survivors, provide
for regular visits by mobile courts or court officers to these facilities
and document such visits, in order to ensure that sexual assaults
are investigated and prosecuted;
5.2.8. provide counselling, psychological support and health
care, including sexual and reproductive health care and specific
post-rape care in these facilities, for victims of gender-based
violence in their countries of origin and in transit or destination
countries;
5.2.9. ensure the same access to affordable and adequate health
services for all women and girls as for the general population,
regardless of whether they are defined as migrants, immigrants,
refugees or asylum seekers;
5.2.10. ensure that girls are free to decide for themselves, that
their voluntary and informed consent is always obtained, and that
they do not require authorisation from a spouse, parent/guardian
or hospital authority to access sexual and reproductive health services;
5.3. with regard to asylum procedures:
5.3.1. implement
gender-sensitive asylum procedures by ensuring the presence of female asylum
officers and interpreters, if requested after being proposed; provide
the opportunity to have separate interviews for women and men from
the same family and guarantee the confidentiality of these interviews;
and aim at full protection, including refugee status;
5.3.2. ensure that asylum officers and interpreters receive training
on how to detect cases of gender-based violence and use gender-specific
information about countries of origin, including the prevalence
rate of female genital mutilation and forced marriage;
5.4. with regard to the overall management of cases of gender-based
violence and refugee policies:
5.4.1. participate in resettlement
and relocation programmes, which represent the safest way for asylum
seekers and refugees to come to Europe and implement new, safe legal
pathways to ensure safer transit for women and girls;
5.4.2. fund specific assistance and humanitarian resettlement
programmes for women victims of gender-based violence, on the model
of the Special Quota Project of the Land of
Baden-Württemberg in Germany;
5.4.3. support family reunification;
5.4.4. set up cross-border protection mechanisms for victims
of gender-based violence;
5.4.5. ensure the respect of protection standards for victims
of violence by private service providers contracted to deliver services
and accommodation to asylum seekers, by putting in place a monitoring
mechanism which includes regular visits by migration officials;
5.5. invest in social and economic integration programmes specifically
targeting women refugees, in particular by providing language courses
and facilitating the recognition of diplomas and access to employment,
and by informing women refugees of the rules of good conduct in
the host country, particularly with respect to gender equality;
5.6. with regard to combating discrimination against refugees
and asylum seekers, including women:
5.6.1. launch awareness-raising
campaigns on the positive contribution of refugees and asylum seekers
to our societies;
5.6.2. strongly condemn and punish any form of discrimination
and violence against refugees and asylum seekers, including women.
6. The Assembly calls on members of national parliaments of Council
of Europe member and observer States and parliaments which enjoy
observer or partner for democracy status with the Assembly to speak
out against the discrimination and stigmatisation of refugees and
asylum seekers.
7. Finally, the Assembly pays tribute to the tremendous courage
shown by refugee and asylum-seeking women, as well as internally
displaced persons, such as the Yazidi advocates Nadia Murad, who
received the Václav Havel Prize from the Assembly, and Farida Abbas.
These women escaped violence and shared their stories so as to raise
awareness throughout the world about the situation of women victims
of gender-based violence and the need to ensure their protection.