In the week that the world is celebrating the centenary of International Women’s Day (8 March 2011), I’ve been asked to reflect on the significance of our new, two-year, Comic Relief-funded women’s project, ‘Raising Refugee Women’s Voices’.
In addition to 100 years of International Women’s Day, this year we celebrate 60 years of the 1951 Refugee Convention. These two landmark years are inextricably linked: figures show that around 30 per cent of asylum-seekers in the UK and some 48 per cent in Glasgow are women. However, despite such international milestones, recent research into the experiences of refugee and asylum-seeking women in the UK reveal some disturbing figures:
- 56 per cent of dependents in our Women and Health research were not informed of their right to make an independent asylum claim (Scottish Refugee Council 2009)
- 70 per cent of women in our research had experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime (Scottish Refugee Council 2009)
- 20 per cent of women in our research had thought about committing suicide in the 7 days prior to being interviewed (Scottish Refugee Council 2009)
- 87 per cent of women in Asylum Aid’s ‘Unsustainable’ research were refused asylum at the initial stage; 50 per cent of these were overturned on appeal (the UK average is just 28 per cent) (Asylum Aid 2011)
Project aims and aspirations
Our project aims to address these issues by supporting refugee women themselves to raise these and other concerns with key decision makers. The overarching objective of the project is about empowering refugee women to influence the policy and practices which impact so profoundly on their lives. We will also advocate on behalf of refugee women on a number of key issues such as access to services, health, gender-related violence, and the asylum determination process.
The experiences of Scottish Refugee Council’s direct contact with asylum-seeking and refugee women in Glasgow, enhanced by evidence from recent research, strongly suggest that the traumatic journeys many women endure before, during and after the asylum process are not being met with effective, gender-specific responses.
Committed to providing appropriate support and services
Although service providers in Scotland have made meaningful progress in addressing the health and support needs of asylum-seeking women over recent years, this project will provide a focus and a channel for developing and expanding this valuable work, helping to ensure that women are not exposed to prolonged suffering, destitution or abuse.
Looking to the future
Let’s ensure that by the time the world is marking 102 years of International Women’s Day, we have something to celebrate with refugee and asylum-seeking women in Glasgow.
Read more
Read an inspiring article in the New Statesman about the lessons British feminism can learn from women who have fled their coutnries to seek asylum in the UK.
