Migrant Women Share Stories of Overcoming Violence

In an effort to promote the protection of women migrant workers from sexual and gender-based violence, the UN Gender Program Coordination Group’s sub-working group on migration and gender organised a brownbag lunch for UN staff on IOM’s project, “A rights based approach to empowering migrant women affected by violence”. In close collaboration with three Vietnamese NGOs - CSAGA, CEFACOM and LIGHT - and with the support of the European Union, this project has seen the development of eleven self-help groups involving over 100 migrant women.

Thirteen migrant women who are members of the self-help groups courageously agreed to participate in the lunch, with several sharing extremely personal stories of violence suffered at different stages of their lives, from childhood to marriage, with their husbands and husband’s families, the main perpetrators.

The training provided by IOM and its partners through this project has helped these women to understand the Vietnamese law on domestic violence, the right of all Vietnamese women to freedom from violence and how to claim that right. The extent to which this project has helped Vietnamese migrant women affected by violence to speak out and claim their rights was clearly evident and the women speakers offered much inspiration to those attending the lunch.

The stories shared by these women also illustrated that they have become accustomed to using “unconventional” and unexpected means to fight for the cause of a life free from violence, including presenting a copy of the law on domestic violence to police who refuse to get involved or scattering one’s marital bed with leaflets and manuals on domestic violence to literally send the message home to one’s partner.

The lunch gave those who attended the opportunity to engage with migrant women, the intended beneficiaries of many of the projects implemented by the UN in Vietnam. It also highlighted the value and importance of working in close collaboration with local Vietnamese NGOs.

The participants were also encouraged to look to the experiences of neighbouring countries, such as East Timor and the Philippines, to learn and apply innovative ways to involve men in this fight.

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