On International Migrants Day, December 18, this past year, a new policy brief was launched addressing the specific issue of migrant women in detention. The brief, Experiences and Challenges Faced by Migrant Women Affected by Immigration Detention, was a joint effort of UN Women and the International Detention Coalition (IDC), a WIMN member organization.
Click here to download the brief.
The concept note for the launch event in Geneva noted:
“Immigration detention remains one of the most critical human rights challenges of our time, with its negative and long-lasting impacts well documented. However, analysis of the gendered dimensions of immigration detention remains limited.
“In the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Objective 13) and the Global Compact on Refugees (Paragraph 60), States committed to implement non-custodial alternatives to detention that are in line with international law, and to end child immigration detention.
“Conditions in immigration detention often exacerbate physical and mental health challenges, particularly for women, girls and gender-diverse people, who face distinct vulnerabilities. These include heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence, limited access to reproductive health services and inadequate gender-responsive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Migrant women’s experiences are further shaped by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, family separation and insufficient safety and protection mechanisms.
“To better address the gendered experiences and impacts of immigration detention, UN Women, through its Making Migration Safe for Women project funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, and International Detention Coalition (IDC) partnered to examine the intersection of gender and immigration detention. This collaboration resulted in the development of a joint Policy Brief – Experiences and Challenges Faced by Migrant Women Affected by Immigration Detention – highlighting key findings, global promising practices and recommendations for gender-responsive, rights-based alternatives to immigration detention…”