Migrant and refugee women and girls
Global challenges, including the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, economic crises and climate change, have hit women and girls the hardest, deepening existing gender inequalities and exposing women and girls to further violence, discrimination, and social exclusion. These global challenges have long-lasting effects. Policies to address them, including those on peace and security – if they are to be effective – require the full and meaningful involvement of women as well as a gender equality and an intersectional perspective. Meanwhile, anti-rights and anti-gender rhetoric challenges gender equality standards and threaten existing rights. This calls for a robust defence of the existing acquis in multilateral relations.
Migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women and girls are confronted with intensified forms of violence and discrimination. Standards and policies must therefore be tailored to their situations. The 2022 Committee of Ministers Recommendation on protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls aims to prevent violence, to promote empowerment and to ensure access to essential rights and services.
The Council of Europe is committed to promoting the empowerment of women and girls and fully integrating a gender equality perspective in relation to these global and geopolitical challenges.
Standards and other resources of the Council of Europe
- Practical guide for public authorities to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Recommendation on protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls, 2025
- Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)17 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls, 2022 I Other languages
- Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)10 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration, 2022
- Reception of women and children refugees in Europe’s cities and regions, Report, Current Affairs Committee, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, 2022
- Guide on the case-law of the European Convention on Human Rights-Immigration, European Court for Human Rights, 2020
- Family reunification for refugee and migrant children - standards and promising practices, Handbook, Special Representative on Migration and Refugees, 2020
- Gender-Based asylum claims and non-refoulement: Articles 60 and 61 of the Istanbul Convention, 2019
Other languages: French | Hungarian | Polish | Romanian | Slovak | Turkish I Ukrainian - Key Recommendations-factsheet on protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls, 2019
- Factsheet on protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylym-seeking women and girls, 2019
- Protecting migrant women, refugee women, and women asylum-seekers from gender-balanced violence, 2019
- Migration from a gender perspective: empowering women as key actors for integration, Report, Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Parliamentary Assembly, 2018
- Resolution 2159(2017) of the Parliamentary Assembly on protecting refugee women and girls from gender-based violence, 2017
- Council of Europe Action Plan (2017-2019) on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe, 2017
- From reception to integration: the role of local and regional authorities facing migration, Report, Current Affairs Committee, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, 2017
- General Policy Recommendation N°16 on safeguarding irregularly present migrants from discrimination, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), 2016
- The Commissioner for Human Rights’ comment on human rights of refugee and migrant women and girls, 2016
- Refugee Women and the Istanbul Convention-preventing and combating sexual and gender-based violence (PACE &UNHCR), 2013
- Resolution 1765 (2010) of the Parliamentary Assembly on gender-related claims for asylum, 2010
- Recommendation 1940(2010) of the Parliamentary Assembly on gender-related claims for asylum, 2010
- Recommendation n°R(79)10 of the Committee of Ministers to members states concerning women migrants,1979
Resources of other organisations
- For an equal Europe for all: Migrant women rights are human rights.Key issues and recommendations for policymakers, Policy Brief, Forum (Intercultural dialogue and civic participation against stigmatisation of migrants and refugees) Project, 2022 - Spanish
- Undocumented migrant women in Europe: A neglected chapter in fundamental rights in protection, Executive Summary-Report, European Network of Migrant Women, 2022
- Immigrant integration in Europe, Report, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, 2022
- Policies and Practice: A guide to gender-responsive implementation of the global compact for migration, UN WOMEN, 2021
- A Toolkit for Enhancing Counselling for Victims of Gender-Based Violence: Empowering Counsellors and Beneficiaries to Assess the Needs and the Impact of Counselling with Women in Migration, The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control affiliated with the United Nations, 2021
- Migrant Women's Mental Health and Wellbeing, Report, European Network of Migrant Women, 2021
- The traumas endured by refugee women and their consequences for integration and participation in the EU host country, Study, European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, 2021
- Perilous Pregnancies: Barriers in Access to Affordable Maternal Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in the European Union, Report, Center for Reproductive Rights, 2020
- Outcome report, Canada-EU Migration Platform on the Integration of Migrant Women, 2020
- Gender-sensitive education and training for the integration of third-country nationals, Study, European Institute for Gender Equality, 2020
- Detecting and protecting victims of trafficking in hotspots, Study, European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, 2019
- Rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls, report drafted by a group of Students of Science Po Strasbourg for the Council of Europe Gender Equality Division, 2019
- Asylum seeking and refugee women: Tackling the barriers in asylum procedures in the EU, Policy Recommendations, European Network of Migrant Women, 2018
- “#GirlsVoices: Meeting needs of migrant girls on the move”, Information sheet, European Network of Migrant Women, 2018
- Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, United Nations, 2018
- Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action, Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), 2017
- Empower Women and Girls and Gender as a Cross-Cutting Issue, Analytical Paper, Women’s Refugee Commission, 2017
- Legal Rights of Women and Girl Asylum Seekers in the European Union , Report, UN Women, 2017
- #womensvoices: From conflict to peace? Recommendations on preventing and combating violence against refugee women & girls on the move, Report, European Women’s Lobby, 2016
- Gender-based dangers facing migrant and refugee women, Position Paper, European Network of Migrant Women, 2016
- Gender, Age and Migration, an Extended Briefing, BRIDGE Development-Gender, 2016
- Assessments “Women and Girls in the European Refugee Crisis”, Women’s Refugee Commission, 2016
- Review of Gender Equality in operations, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2016
- General recommendation No. 32 on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 2014
- Gender equality and the empowerment of women in natural disasters, UN Secretary General, Report, 2014
- Speaking for Ourselves: Hearing Refugee Voices, A Journey Towards Empowerment, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2014
