The extent to which EU funding has influenced the situation for women and girls in Greek refugee camps. A human rights based analysis

Europe has been experiencing a refugee crisis since 2015. Greece in particular has been struggling with huge numbers of refugees and migrants each year. Women and girls have additional vulnerabilities to men and should therefore be afforded increased levels of protection. The European Union has provided funding to Greece in order to address this issue, in particular in 2021, the EU allocated funding for the creation of five closed access camps. This research examines the situation in these closed access camps in Greece, looking at the experience of women and girls, and the influence that EU policies and funding have had by comparing the situation in EU funded closed access camps with the situation before EU funding. This paper focuses on 4 key factors in analysing the experience of women and girls from a human rights perspective: gender-based violence against women; access to healthcare; the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to a standard of living. This thesis uses a varied methodology, analysing academic literature, government reports, journal articles as well as using interviews, focus groups and social media to get an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the current situation. The findings and conclusion of this thesis highlight the need for immediate action from the Greek government, the EU and the international community. The situation in the five closed camps in Greece is dire in all aspects which were analysed, and the impact of the EU funding has not significantly improved the situation at all, the same concerns from before 2021 remain now and thus there must be immediate action taken by all parties.