Introduction
The profile
of immigrant women – who make up half of the black and migrant population today
- has evolved in recent years. Female migration now has a wide range of
characteristics and varies according to the generation, country of origin and
the length of time during which the women have been in the country.
Whereas in
the past, some women tended to join their husbands under family reunification
policies, many immigrant women today are migrating alone and are successfully
developing strategies for social mobility. In particular, there is an influx of
skilled women immigrants, who are finding jobs in sectors of the economy where
there is a shortage of labour, such as caring for dependent persons or
starting their own business. It is to be noted that an important number of
immigrant women domestic workers are undocumented and therefore are in extreme
precarious situation, vulnerable to exploitation and violence, without worker’s
legal rights and without access to social rights and health
care.
It is
regretful that the European Union persists in not including fully the rights and
concerns of immigrant women in the current debate on the integration of
immigrants in the EU[1] and more generally
in the development of a European immigration policy[2]. EWL denounces the
two-fold discrimination to which immigrant women are subjected on the grounds of
their gender and their origin in receiving countries and within immigrant
communities themselves and calls upon the EU to take specific measures to
consolidate their fundamental rights.
EWL
supports the resolution 1478(2006) and the recommendation 1732(2006) on the
integration of immigrant women in Europe adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe on the 24th of January 2006, and calls on
the EU to take note and be inspired by these.
EWL
believes that the following main focal areas of the integration process are:
1.
The protection of the fundamental rights of immigrant women,
including worker’s rights
2.
The promotion of the participation of immigrant women in public,
political and economic life.
3.
Dialogue with countries of origin
1.
The protection of fundamental rights of immigrant women in the
EU
1.1
Facilitating the granting of a legal status that is independent of and
separate from that of the principal legal status holder
The status
of immigrants the large majority of whom are women – joining their spouse under
family reunification arrangements is linked to that of the principal legal
status holder. This directly affects the personal situation of immigrant women
who may lose their provisional residence permit and therefore find themselves in
an illegal situation in the event of divorce, repudiation or the departure of
their husband in the year following their arrival, which dissuades certain women
who have experienced violence from making an official complaint.
The essential first step
towards integrating immigrant women and not confining them to the domestic
sphere is the recognition that they have a status and work permit in their own
right.
EWL
has therefore denounced this situation and launched, in October 2005, a lobbying
campaign with its national member organisations concerning the transposition of
the Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family
reunification[3].
Recommendations to the EU and member
States:
Ø
To ensure that autonomous status and work permit is granted
to the spouse and children of the principal legal status holder at the earliest
opportunity (once the request for family reunification is accepted) in order to
guarantee and protect their rights fully and facilitate their social
integration.
1.2
Non-application in domestic law of any provision contrary to fundamental
Human Rights, such as equality between women and men, which could be applied to
immigrant women pursuant to private international law
The
personal status of immigrant women in Europe is regulated either by the law of a
person’s habitual place of residence or by personal status law. The situation
differs from one country to another, with each country using its own private
international law: it is therefore for the national courts to identify and apply
the law pertaining to the situation. This can result in legal conflicts between
foreign family codes, international conventions signed by the host country and
the fundamental values and rights guaranteed by the host country. The victim may
be required therefore to refer the matter to a court in the host country in
order to set aside judgments delivered by a foreign court that are incompatible
with equality between women and men (e.g. repudiation or polygamy)[4]. This might be
difficult for immigrant women who may not know their rights or the language of
the host country well enough[5] or don’t have the
means to afford legal aid.
The
application of personal status laws in the host country can weaken the
fundamental rights of immigrant women or EU nationals of immigrant origin, and
this is clearly unacceptable in host countries that have ratified international
and European Human Rights instruments.
Recommendations to the EU and Member
States:
Ø
The European Commission to undertake an in-depth survey in
all EU Member States of the legal discrimination experienced by immigrant women
who are subjected to discriminatory laws in force in their country of origin
regarding the personal status;
Ø
To ensure that any provision in foreign legislation relating to
immigrant women in EU member states which is contrary to the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the EU, the European Convention on Human Rights and its
protocol 7 is identified and not applied and/or that any sections of
bilateral agreements and rules of international private law which violate the
fundamental human rights, in particular with regard to personal status in the
field of marriage, divorce or child custody, are renegotiated, rejected or
denounced.
1.3
Guaranteeing protection to immigrant women victims of violence
Immigrant
women are exposed to many forms of violence, depending on their situation in the
host country:
·
Immigrant women legally
staying in the EU, in particular those with a
dependent status[6], victims of
physical and psychological violence (including the continuing practice of forced
or arranged marriages) are often dissuaded from making formal complaints because
of linguistic barriers, family pressure, isolation, cultural traditions[7] or discrimination
practices by officers in charge.
·
Undocumented migrant
women whose
absence of status exposes them to all sorts of violence and abuse in the
workplace.
·
Women victims of trafficking
for sexual exploitations. The
Council Directive
2004/81/CE of 29th April 2004[8] grants
temporary residence permit to victims of trafficking in human beings if
they assist the competent authorities and give evidence against the traffickers.
The EWL has criticised this directive, calling for stronger support for the
victims: they should be granted a residence and work permit in the host
countries without any conditions attached.
Recommendations to EU member
States:
Ø
To provide appropriate mechanisms, in the language of origin if
necessary, to ensure that immigrant women victims of violence are fully
informed of their rights, have effective access to legal, health and social
assistance, and are able to obtain an independent legal status, residence and
work permit.
Ø
In order to prevent violence against immigrant women, new
immigrants, both men and women, should be given more information on their rights
and duties in the host country, including equality between men and women,
the personal status of migrants, the rights and protection that derive from this
and available legal channels of appeal.
Ø
To ensure the protection of immigrant women in an irregular
situation from all forms of exploitation and violence, including
trafficking.
Ø
To ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on
action against trafficking in human beings of 16 May
2005.
Ø
To implement the
European
Parliament resolution on strategies to prevent the trafficking of women and
children who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation
(2004/2216(INI)), in particular to develop and implement programmes of social
inclusion and rehabilitation of women and children who have been the victims of
trafficking (para 44) and to introduce measures enabling special residence
authorisation to be granted in special cases in order to enable foreign victims
who are in an irregular situation to escape from violence (para 49).
2. Promoting the
participation of immigrant women in public, political and economic
life
2.1 Achieving
integration: a comprehensive approach
Integrating
immigrant women is a dynamic process. Practical measures in this area should
cover social, economic, human rights and cultural aspects. It implies also to
acknowledge that the discrimination immigrant women experience, based on racism
and sexism, develops both in the host country and sometimes in the immigrant
communities themselves, where practices of inequality and submission are
tolerated in the host countries in an approach based on cultural and religious
relativism that is incompatible with human rights
Special
attention needs to be given to the task of integrating girls from immigrant
families. This implies in particular to ensure the freedom to control their
own bodies, access to birth control and the right to choose one’s partner.
In this context, schools - with the proper code of conduct - can be an ideal
setting for forging social ties with the host society and learning about
democracy with due regard for gender mixing.
Furthermore, it is important to ensure that immigrant men
play their part in the moves to promote the integration and empowerment of
immigrant women and young girls.
Politicians
and authorities must play a clear role in the integration
process.
Recommendations to the EU and Member
States:
Ø
To develop mechanisms ensuring that gender is fully mainstreamed
in the implementation of the Commission’s Framework for the Integration of
Third-Country Nationals in the European Union[9] and review the
Common Basic Principles for immigrant integration policy in the European Union
(CBPs) accordingly. Such mechanisms should aim
at:
·
Training of immigrant
women,
including language learning, knowledge of existing human, civic and social
rights in the host society, where relevant, as key tools for social
integration.
·
Incorporating in integration policies the dimension of a sharing
of family responsibilities and domestic tasks, with both the father and
mother playing their part, and access to social rights for
both.
·
Promoting information and awareness-raising campaigns in the
media, the labour market, the vocational training sector and in schools to
increase the social status and the role of immigrant women in the host societies
and to overcome stereotypes confining immigrant women to passive
roles.
·
Guaranteeing the fundamental rights of young girls and adopt
measures to achieve equality between boys and girls
Ø
To collect gender-disaggregated data on migration flows to
enable a better understanding of women’s migration patterns, the needs of
immigrant women, the discriminations they are facing, as well as the specific
actions that could accelerate their integration into the host
society.
2.2 Encouraging
access to employment
Immigrant
women are often confined to “traditional” sectors of the economy (services to
households and domestic labour, health care) and are under more pressure to
accept part-time work or jobs with flexible hours, which make it difficult to
balance professional and family life or secure a proper old age pension. They
are also more likely to be unemployed than immigrant men, and other,
non-immigrant women. Furthermore they earn not only less then men but also less
then white women for equal work, equal qualification and skilled
experiences.
In the
European Union, the employment rate of immigrant women is 16.9% lower
than that of women of EU nationality; for men the difference is just 11%. The
difference is even greater for highly skilled immigrant women (with an
employment rate 23.2% lower than women of EU nationality with equivalent skills.
Among men in the same category the differential is just 13%)[10].
Statistics
seem to show that variations in employment among immigrant women are determined
less by their cultural baggage than by the characteristic features of the
society, such as attitudes towards the participation of women in the labour
market and national employment patterns.
Access to
gainful employment is nevertheless an important step in securing independence,
economic freedom and the integration of women of migrant origin.
Recommendations to EU Member
States:
Ø
To develop strategies to facilitate the participation of
immigrant women in the labour market, based on strong government action, in
terms of recognition of diplomas, the provision of positive
measures in order to promote the practice of hiring immigrant women, such as
programmes that sensitise multiculturalism.
Ø
To ensure adequate vocational training for those immigrant
women who are in need of specific training, which would aim at lifting them out
of professions traditionally reserved for them (e.g. in the service, care or
restaurant sector) and allowing them to access to more qualified
jobs;
Ø
Support the work of non-governmental organisations and
social services providers, which play an important role in improving the skills
of immigrant women and/or are fighting discrimination against
them;
Ø
Support the work of trade unions that, in the workplace,
have a special duty to combat discrimination as well as the social and economic
exclusion of immigrants and to ensure that the rules on equal treatment are
observed.
Ø
Encourage and facilitate business creation by immigrant
women as a key element for providing access to employment, and offering
immigrant women an outlet for their skills and qualifications.
Ø
To link more closely EU policies on integration of immigrants with
EU social inclusion and employment strategies.
2.3 The local
dimension of integration
Competent
in matters relating to social affairs, education, local democracy and
intercultural and inter-faith dialogue, municipal authorities are a driving
force in promoting integration and migrants’ access to social rights. They also
play a key role in providing support for local associations. These associations
develop community activities, help improve the abilities of immigrant women,
promote literacy and facilitate their socio-economic integration.
Recommendations to Member States, in particular municipal
authorities:
Ø
To develop mechanisms ensuring that immigrant women’s rights
and concerns are integrated in any action taken at municipal
level;
Ø
To encourage immigrant women to participate in public bodies
and ensure that these bodies reflect the diversity of the
society.
Ø
To ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on the
participation of foreigners in public life at local level (5 February 1992), and
in particular to grant electoral rights to local elections to
third-country nationals in the EU.
Ø
To support actively local and national NGOs, networks and
service providers of/for immigrant women
3.
Dialogue with countries of origin
It is
important to initiate dialogue with the countries of origin, encouraging the
promotion of equality between women and men as fundamental human rights, and to
call upon them to prohibit practices in some countries which are contrary to
human rights, such as repudiation, polygamy, divorce without mutual consent and
issues regarding the custody of children. The eradication of poverty from a
gender perspective in the countries of origin is also essential to tackle the
causes of inequalities and economic dependence.
Finally,
as active participants of migratory movements, immigrant women contribute to the
maintenance of their households and to the development of their communities of
origin through the sending of remittances. The relationship between gender and
remittances should be acknowledged and analysed further within the debate on
immigration, development and integration of immigrants in the host
country.
March
2006
sources: Strengthening women’s rights
in a multicultural Europe, EWL contribution to the World Conference Against
Racism, Durban September 2001 / EWL contribution to the European Commission
Green Paper on the management of economic migration, COM(2004)0811 / Empowering
migrant women living in Europre, report of the workshop organised by EWL and
Solidar, October 2005 – see EWL website / Gender mainstreaming, International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), www.iom.int. “Migrants, Minorities and Employment”,
European Observatory for Racist and Xenophobic Phenomena, October 2003, p. 20. /
Opinion of the Committee on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men on “Human
Mobility and the right to family reunification”, rapporteur: Mr Giuseppe Gaburro
(Italy, EPP), 6 May 2004 / Gender, remittances and development, working paper,
INSTRAW, June 2005.
[4]
For example, in France, the
Court of Cassation established in 5 simultaneous judgments dated 17 February
2004 that “even where it resulted from a fair and inter partes
procedure, any decision upholding the unilateral repudiation by a husband
without giving legal effect to any objection from the wife (…) is contrary to
the principle of equality between spouses in the dissolution of marriage,
recognised by Article 5 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human
Rights (..) and international public order (…) given that, in the case in
question, the wife, and indeed both spouses, were domiciled in France.” - See judgments Nos. 256, 257, 258, 259
and 260 of the First Civil Section of the Court of Cassation, www.courdecassation.fr
[5]
Marina Da Silva, Ces Françaises, victimes d’un droit personnel étranger, Le
Monde Diplomatique, November 2005
[6]
Under family reunification, see 1.1
[7] See
“No exit: the plight of battered Maghrebi immigrant women in France”, Senior
thesis by Lori K. Mihalich, 5 April 2001, Woodrow Wilson School of Public
and International Affairs
[8]
Council
Directive 2004/81/CE of 29th April 2004 on the residence permit issues to
third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who
have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who
cooperate with the competent
authorities
[9]
Communication on "A Common Agenda for Integration: Framework for the Integration
of Third-Country Nationals in the European Union", COM(2005) 389
final
[10] Employment in Europe 2003, Employment and European Social Funds, EC Publication