Survivors of Gender-based Violence Navigating the EU Asylum System

Introduction & Summary

Migration is a gendered experience: Women, men, and gender-diverse people experience mobility across borders differently, shaped by gender norms, power relations, and unequal access to protection. These differences are evident at every stage of the migration process: in the reasons that compel people to leave their countries of origin, in their experiences during their journey, and in the conditions, the level of protection, and the dangers they encounter upon arrival in their destination.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a common element of migration experiences. In contexts of conflict and crisis, various forms of gender-based violence increase significantly, with women and girls often targeted through sexual violence, forced marriage, trafficking, and other forms of persecution. During migration journeys, violence experienced by migrants, too, is gendered: men are more likely to experience detention-related abuse or torture, while women face a heightened risk of GBV, including sexual exploitation. In countries of destination, these risks frequently persist, with migrant women experiencing increased risks of intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation, as well as violence in reception and accommodation facilities.

Despite these realities, the asylum system has long struggled to adequately reflect and respond to gender-based violence. Protection on the grounds of gender-related persecution remains limited, and survivors often do not receive sufficient support — for example, through access to healthcare and psychosocial services, or through proper identification and referral mechanisms for GBV cases. This policy paper combines legal analysis of international and EU frameworks with research findings and lived experiences from the ground. Based on this evidence, it provides concrete recommendations for EU policymakers to address both legal gaps and persistent implementation failures in the protection of people fleeing gender-based violence.

Recommendations include:

• Strengthening early identification of special reception and procedural needs through standardised, gendersensitive vulnerability assessments
• Ensuring effective referral mechanisms and access to tailored reception conditions, including specialised accommodation and timely psychosocial care
• Improving procedural safeguards in the personal interview, including confidentiality and access to same-sex interviewers/interpreters upon request

The reach.out plus Project

To address these shortcomings, Médecins du Monde (MdM), CARE Deutschland, and CARE International have launched the reach.out plus project, a consortium initiative implemented by MdM in Germany, the Netherlands, and Greece and by CARE International in Brussels. Depending on national contexts, the project supports asylum-seekers and refugees in accessing healthcare and psychosocial services while strengthening their capacity to understand and exercise their rights throughout the asylum procedure.

Within this framework, the project aims to:

• Empower affected and vulnerable individuals through community-based information and training
• Improve first response and support through targeted training for professionals on gender-based violence
• Promote systemic change by strengthening the implementation and monitoring of EU-wide GBV guidelines

Read the full policy paper below: