Definition of gender based violence in the context of migrations

From the stance of international law, gender based violence is disciplined „using the medium of human rights“ and in 1979 the Assembly of the United Nations adopted the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women).

Although considered a point of departure for the protection of women – at least in terms of human rights violation – this first version did not make explicit reference to violence against women. Following the Second Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993, to implement the CEDAW, the General Assembly of the United Nations (resolution 48/104) promoted the Declaration on the elimination of violence against women.

The Declaration recognises „that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women” and that it is “one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men”. It expresses concern for the fact that “some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention, female children, women with disabilities, elderly women and women in situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to violence”.

Attention should also be paid, with reference to the Council of Europe, to

  • European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
  • Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (Warsaw Convention) – the Warsaw Convention also set up the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) which monitors the implementation by the contracting States of the provisions established therein, published in regular reports.
  • Report from the European Commission to the European Parliament and Council, 2016 on the progress made in the fight against trafficking of human beings, COM (2016) 267 final of 19 May 2016
  • Palermo Protocol – Additional Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime for the prevention, repression and punishment of the trafficking of human beings, especially women and children (2000).

Istanbul Convention

Chapter VII of the Istanbul Convention – Migration and Asylum
  • Articles 59-60-61: these refer to violence suffered by migrants and refugees and the forms of legal recognition that must be implemented as a result.
  • Although it considers gender based violence as every action that injures the individual due to their gender, the Convention focuses on the violence against women and on the specific details of damaging actions performed to their detriment. With regard to articles 60-61, it therefore focuses on the cases on which determining the conditions for asylum may be founded and in which it could theoretically be granted. These include rape, genital mutilation, trafficking, forced prostitution and domestic violence.
  • An act of violence is considered an injurious and/or coercive action when carried out in either the public and/or private spheres. With regard to the experiences of the refugees, and considering with a critical eye the parties that should be guaranteeing protection, it s also important to understand the extent to which this definition (and others generated by the institutions that manage violence in the context of protecting people’s rights) is used in a perspective that shows the powers of the institutions, the State, state agencies, public opinion and humanitarian intervention to reinforce and perpetuate these deeply injurious actions, rather than recognising them and seeking ways of caring for and supporting the victims if necessary.

Project Partners

Casework is a cooperation between the Innovation in Learning Institute (ILI), the ECC Association for Interdisciplinary Consulting and Education, the INTRGEA Institute for Development of Human Potentials, and Oxfam Italy. More info…