This International Women’s Day, March 8th, is celebrated during a period of intense global movement of migrants and refugees — and corresponding levels of racial and xenophobic hostility as well as inspiring acts of generous humanity. At the global level, many governments are torn by the reality of unprecedented numbers of people on the move, multiplying the complexity of addressing immediate needs as well as underlying “root causes” and humane policy solutions.
In its statement, “Speak out against xenophobia, racism and violence against women,” the Women and Global Migration Working Group (WGMWG), which the BWI is part of, calls attention to the dangerous and disturbing patterns of violence against migrants and refugees, particularly as we have recently witnessed in Europe. The WGMWG denounces all forms of violence against women, and also condemns the “othering” of perpetrators of gender-based violence as in the reporting of harassment and sexual attacks on women in Germany on New Year’s Eve.
On International Women’s Day, the Women and Global Migration Working Group urges a public reaffirmation: all women should be safe from sexual and gender based violence, regardless of the migration status of the women or the perpetrators of such acts.
“Speak Out Against Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence Against Women” Women & Global Migration Working Group statement in ENGLISH, ARABIC, RUSSIAN, FRENCH, SPANISH