Women with Migration Experience

Women with migration background are a very heterogeneous group in Germany: Many were born here, others came here as children or adults. Some of them have only poor German skills, others again are highly proficient in this language. Women with migration background inhabit different social and family circumstances, have different income levels and living environments. Their residential status can be also be quite different. Just as every population group, they are as well affected by gender-specific violence in the domestic and public sphere.

Victims Need More Protection Against Violence

But female migrants with uncertain residential status as well as refugee women have only limited access to the support system and are often insufficiently protected against violence. The legal and structural conditions contribute to the fact that women with migration background are particularly vulnerable with regard to gender-specific violence and human rights violations.

FHK therefore advocates that all women with migration background who are affected by violence receive the necessary support in protecting them and their children against violence, along with needs-based support in overcoming the violence.

The different living situations and the legal frameworks that affect women with migration background (which include, for example, the term during which a marriage needs to exist for setting up independent right of residence) have to be taken into account when offering protection and support in cases of violence.


Further information

Counselling centre for female migrants and their families in Frankfurt/Main, website of FIM e.V.: https://www.fim-frauenrecht.de/en/.

Refugee women and FHK projects on flight and protection against violence (internal link)