Immigration and Migration Policy Guidance
Women and Girls Are at a Greater Risk for Violence When Immigrating or Migrating — an Issue That Requires Policy Reform.
Our policy briefs detail recommendations and solutions to prevent and end this violence.
Violence Against Women and Girls, Immigration and Migration: What Role Does the U.S. Play?
- U.S. Mass Deportations and the Impact on Women and Girls’ Experiences of Violence
This policy brief gives an overview of the current evidence on violence against women and girls, migration and immigration, and it argues that one of the primary consequences of mass deportation will be an increase in experiences of this violence.
We make several policy recommendations to the U.S. government to mitigate the additional risk of violence against women and girls as a result of its mass deportation program:
- Uphold international human rights law.
- Halt detention and deportation operations that violate due process.
- Act with due diligence to investigate and address all forms of violence against migrant women and girls.
- Resource and empower grassroots organizations to expand community-level protections and services for migrant women and girls.
In addition to the policy brief on our blog, you can read the full article, which was published by the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
- Protecting Women from Violence at Home and Abroad: The Role of the U.S. and Comprehensive Immigration Reform
This policy brief argues that the U.S. should adopt a two-pronged strategy on violence against women and girls. First, U.S. policymakers should adopt immigration reforms that prevent and respond to violence against undocumented women and girls and others through domestic immigration reform. Second, the government should pursue global policies that will protect women and girls from violence.
We also make several policy recommendations for U.S. immigration reform:
- Ensure protections for immigrant and refugee survivors of violence against women and girls, including facilitating and increasing access to T and U visas, asylum and full and immediate access to health and social services.
- Strengthen worker protections, regardless of immigration status, to support survivors of workplace-related violence against women and girls to claim their rights.
- Promote general immigration support services that address gender inequality and empower women and girls.
Want to learn more about policy change to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls?
- Conflict and crisis settings: Policy considerations to support women and girls who are at risk of violence in conflict and crisis settings
- Adolescent girls: Policy considerations to address adolescent girls’ specific vulnerabilities to violence, health outcomes and service needs