The role of the European asylum policy in exacerbating the risk of gender-based violence against sub-Saharan migrant women: the Greek case

Women constitute half of the people migrating worldwide and to Europe. Nevertheless, the international and regional framework on asylum lacks a gender-mainstreaming approach and for this reason, they are inadequate to respond to specific gender needs. Studies have highlighted how the precarious conditions in which women live in the country of transit and/or arrival and resettlement can increase the danger of interpersonal violence. Yet, there is a great data gap regarding sexual violence against migrant women and its entity, due to the difficulty in assessing sexual gender-based violence. This difficulty can be traced back to the lack of access to services for women, the distrust in institutions, cultural barriers, and failed protection by the national judicial system. Moreover, research has concentrated on sexual violence, which is in fact only one type of GBV that women risk suffering from. The aim of this research is to investigate the presence and amount of different interrelated types of GBV perpetrated against sub-Saharan migrant women in Greece and what are, if there are, the responsibilities of the European asylum policies in this regard. To be able to answer my research question, on one hand, I will use the notions of structural and dynamic violence to interpret the role of the European asylum policies; on the other hand, I will rely on the testimonies of the women interviewed. The evidence of this thesis shows that European asylum policies and practices exacerbate the risk of GBV against sub-Saharan migrant women in Greece.