Not enough being done against violence targeting immigrant women, say Luxembourg non-profits

With financial support from the European Commission, the non-profit associations Passerell, Douri, and Ryse have launched the "Leilaw" project to support refugee women, among others.

The project highlights a key issue: insufficient action is being taken to combat violence against immigrant women in Luxembourg, according to the three organisations. Over the past two years, they have developed a comprehensive initiative combining artistic, psychological, and legal support to assist female refugees and raise awareness among professionals.

Passerell, which primarily provides legal advice to refugees in Luxembourg, aimed with the "Leilaw" project to create a safe and supportive space for these women. To achieve this, the Douri association organised artistic workshops. Fadi Chéquryah of Douri explained, "We thought the workshops could offer participants a chance to step out of their comfort zones, meet others, and share ideas," adding that such interactions can help identify problems that may require professional intervention.

As part of the project, Chéquryah also produced a documentary, set to be released in the coming days on the association's website. According to Francesca Tavanti of the Ryse association, many of the women involved are reluctant to directly discuss their experiences. Therefore, establishing trust is crucial. Ryse organised discussion groups, initially with ten women and later expanded to 15-17 participants, meeting twice a month. All sessions were supervised by a specialist psychologist. These gatherings allowed the women to learn about available services and their rights, and the information was also compiled into a booklet for further reference.

The aim of the booklet was to make information easily accessible for women who may not be literate, Tavanti explained. To achieve this, written text was kept to a minimum, and QR codes were included on each page, linking to audio recordings in various languages that explain the content.

Additionally, the booklet features testimonials from women, which can also be listened to. Initially published in English, the brochure will be translated into French, Spanish, Farsi, Arabic, and Tigrinya, the languages most commonly spoken by the women involved in the project.

Between January 2023 and October 2024, as part of the Leilaw project, Passerell opened over 260 cases for women in need of legal assistance, amounting to more than 650 hours of on-call support. The non-profit also organised training sessions and round-table discussions for professionals, including social workers, lawyers, legal experts, and police trainers.

The associations have formulated 16 recommendations, emphasising that gender-based violence should be given greater attention in the asylum process. According to Ambre Schulz, project manager at Passerell, one key concern is how authorities respond to reports of gender-based violence. For example, Schulz highlights situations where a woman informs the Directorate-General for Immigration that she was forced into marriage and subsequently pressured by her family to undergo female genital mutilation.

One of the main recommendations is to ensure that gender-based violence is properly considered during asylum procedures. Schulz criticised the current system, noting, "We've read too many decisions where gender-based violence is either ignored or discredited."

In their recommendations, the associations cite a passage from a November 2024 decision by the Immigration Directorate, which reads:

"Your sister justified this action through her representative by making serious but unproven allegations, such as having been touched by a police officer in XX. If she had indeed been the victim of sexual assault, the Directorate-General of Immigration expects that she would have filed a complaint in XX or at least taken steps from Luxembourg. However, to date, accompanied by a representative, she has not pursued any action in this regard.

This repeated use of unfounded accusations shows a clear disregard for the legal framework, the decisions of European authorities, and the rules governing the asylum system. This strategy of 'reinventing' facts at each stage of the procedure, aimed at creating doubt and circumventing legal decisions, reflects a desire to manipulate the system for personal gain, without providing any tangible evidence to support the claims." (Note: this passage was translated from French)

Schulz expressed the difficulty in explaining such decisions to the women affected. "You have to listen to the victims, both adults and children," she emphasised.

In some asylum cases, she noted, children are not always given a chance to speak, despite the asylum process requiring individual assessments. This can lead to situations where a child has experienced different forms of persecution than their parents. If the child is deemed capable of understanding the situation, they should be allowed to explain why they left their home country, Schulz explained.

The associations also recommend creating a national strategy to combat female genital mutilation. Although such practices have been banned since 2018, there has been no clear national message or comprehensive strategy addressing this issue.

Schulz emphasised the need for greater awareness that female genital mutilation is not only a criminal offence under Luxembourg's Criminal Code but also subject to the principle of extraterritoriality. This means that if a parent takes a young girl to a neighbouring country of the country of origin, or even back to the country of origin itself, for circumcision, and they later return to Luxembourg, the parents can be prosecuted. Schulz lamented that very few people are aware of this law, noting that such incidents do occur. She shared that Passerell had recently dealt with a case of this nature.

Another issue raised by the associations is the lack of statistics on the reasons behind asylum approvals. The absence of such data makes it difficult to ensure that critical issues, like gender-based violence, are being properly addressed during the asylum process.

© Fanny Kinsch