As part of our research project, we will plan and produce networking and awareness-raising activities locally, at community level, in each of our partner countries. This action is targeted to those professionals and service providers who are not directly in contact with refugee and asylum-seeking (RAS) women but are actively involved – at the institutional and community level - in two relevant fields: 1) contrasting violence against women and 2) managing migrants’ inflows.

The networking and awareness-raising activities will be implemented along 12 months through meetings and talks with selected professionals, workers and service provider representatives – hospitals, courts, victim organisations, NGOs – and community representatives – community and municipality leaders, religious community leaders, migrants’ associations representatives.

The meetings and guided talks will deal with the issues of:

• existing knowledge about sexual violence against RAS women and its different forms
• information about the project
• relevance of the targeted agency/institution in contrasting violence and treating victims
• availability to participate in networks of stakeholders

We plan to run four parallel activities over 12 months in each Partner’s location area, beginning six months after the project activities in the first workstream have started. All activities will be coordinated transnationally by the Partners’ Coordinator (CIRF). The outcome of this Workstream is the building of a network of knowledgeable stakeholders, to be measured by the number of stakeholders who accept to get involved, to participate in meetings and talks and to discuss sexually-related violence against refugee women.

The first community event (Refugee and asylum-seeking women and sexual violence: European contexts (Office document, 32kB)) was held on 14 December 2017 in Bristol, and included presentations from the European partners on different forms of, and responses to gender based violence. It also showcased Bristol’s efforts to combat SGBV in RAS populations, looking particularly at the work done to combat and prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Sexual violence and refugee and asylum seeking women - Minuz (Office document, 585kB)

Forced marriage in Spain - Bessa & Gonzalez (Office document, 1,373kB)

Upcoming events

Community events are planned in March and April 2018 with Women’s Aid; Safelives, and students in Bristol and Cardiff Universities (STAR).