WUNRN
Family
Reunification Is Central to the Well-Being of Migrant Women and to the
Successful Integration of Their Families
Since its formation in 2007, the European Network of Migrant Women
(ENoMW) has worked to draw attention to the importance of family reunification
policies for migrant women – both for their well-being and for the integration
chances of their families as a whole. The practice of tying residence permits
and rights to the fortunes of a primary migrant reinforces gender inequalities
within migrant communities. The ENoMW and the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) see ‘dependent status’ is an unnatural
family situation in itself, which has detrimental effects on women, in terms of
their social inclusion, self-confidence and realisation in life.
The ENoMW and the EWL maintain that family members’ access to autonomous
permits is a weakness in most EU countries. This puts many migrant women
experiencing domestic violence in a precarious situation. The migrant women in
question are inclined to endure domestic abuse longer, as they are threatened
with the possibility of becoming undocumented, homeless and without means of
support. Therefore, the ENoMW and the EWL call on EU governments to put an end
to policies establishing dependency between family members.
In addition, the ENoMW and the EWL are increasingly worried that more
and heavier conditions are attached to the family reunification rights of
immigrants in
Note to editors:
The European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW) is an innovative network
bringing together more than one hundred non-governmental and non-profit
organisations from 16 European Union countries to democratically represent the
concerns, needs and interests of migrant women at EU-level.
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest umbrella organisation of
women’s associations in the European Union (EU), working to promote women’s
rights and equality between women and men. EWL membership extends to
organisations in all 27 EU member states and three of the candidate countries,
as well as to 21 European-wide bodies, representing a total of more than 2500
organisations.