Outlook opinion of the Committee of the Regions on The situation of migrant women in the European Union
Date: 2007-10-11
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Union, female migrant, integration of migrants, position of women, women's rights

C 305/48

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Official Journal of the European Union

15.12.2007

Outlook opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘The situation of migrant women in the
European Union’

(2007/C 305/10)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— emphasises that optimum integration of immigrant women and men is crucial, not least in view of
their role in bringing up families, and therefore in the effective integration of the second and third
generations of persons of foreign origin, given the role played by women in the development of
society;

— emphasises that integration means sharing and respecting the fundamental rights and duties of the

individual, which are part of the European legal acquis;

— highlights the key role played by public services, especially at local and regional level and their ability
to create networks between services and with local communities, associations of migrant women and
the voluntary sector;

— is concerned about the high level of school failure and drop-out rates among young girls of foreign
origin, who are disadvantaged in their training and vocational choices, and are sometimes held back
by their families, as well as by cultural prejudice and difficult economic circumstances; considers that
ensuring equal opportunities for girls (and boys) from immigrant families requires parents to be made
familiar with the educational system, thus enabling them to make well-informed choices on their chil-
dren's and in particular daughters' education, taking into account their individual potential and aspira-
tions and transcending gender stereotypes; and believes, furthermore, that initiatives to improve
awareness and involvement among all stakeholders are needed to secure real equality of opportunities.

Rapporteur: Sonia MASINI (IT/PES); President of the Province of Reggio Emilia

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Policy recommendations

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1. welcomes the Commission's
for an outlook
opinion, also with a view to the European Year of Equal Oppor-
tunities for All 2007 and the European Year of Intercultural
Dialogue 2008;

request

2.
reiterates the need for a comprehensive European migra-
tion policy that provides for approaches coordinated between
the Member States and local and regional communities, and
coherent measures on legal migration, both in order to promote
the integration of immigrants who comply with the laws of the
host countries and to strengthen the fight against illegal immi-
gration and irregularities;

3.
notes that the Commission communication A Common
Agenda for Integration recognises that any measures must include
a gender perspective, as well as addressing the particular issues
of young people and children;

emphasises

that optimum integration of

4.
immigrant
women and men is crucial, not least in view of their role in
bringing up families, and therefore in ensuring the effective inte-
gration of
the second and third generations of persons of
foreign origin, given the role played by women in the develop-
ment of society;

5.
points out that its opinion on the Policy plan on legal
migration drew attention to the concern of local and regional
authorities about gender issues, noting the need to consider the
discrimination which may be faced by women based on their
gender, ethnic roots, geographical origin or other causes listed
in Article 13 of the EC Treaty;

future measures

notes the need to guarantee effective legal protection
6.
against discrimination;
for
to look at
completing the current legislative framework; to incorporate the
principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunities into
Union policies; to promote innovation and good practice; to
improve awareness-raising among the groups concerned as well
as the host population and cooperation with them; and to
tackle the discrimination and social exclusion faced by many
ethnic minorities;

recalls that integration is a two-way process,

7.
involving
both the host communities and migrant women, both as indivi-
duals and as members of their national communities and that
awareness raising is necessary for both immigrant and host
communities;

constitutional traditions of the Member States, the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights;

9.
notes that, especially in the case of migrant women,
conflicts may arise between different categories of individual
to cultural and religious identity, and
rights and the right
believes that the latter should be safeguarded provided the prac-
tices deemed to express this identity do not violate fundamental
inalienable rights and are consciously chosen by women rather
than imposed by the family network or community to which
they belong and/or the community of origin;

that

local

observes

and regional

10.
authorities have
acquired considerable experience in policies relating to recep-
labour market access, welfare for migrant
tion, mediation,
forms of exploitation and
women, and combating different
violence, which may be useful
in drawing up new European
strategies and programmes; and that involving associations of
migrant women and other representatives of the relevant groups
of migrant women in permanent dialogue with local and
regional authorities, and representing such groups in the admin-
istration, is crucial to enable the development of effective strate-
gies and programmes;

therefore calls on the Member States and the European
11.
to
recommended by the European Parliament,
Union, as
support these efforts both financially and with human resources
by exchanging information and good practice;

12.
particularly welcomes the adoption of the framework
programme on Solidarity and management of migration flows, espe-
cially provision for a European Integration Fund, whose measures
must take account of gender issues and optimum integration of
women of all ages, young people and children of migrants;

13.
confirms the wish expressed in its opinion on the Policy
plan on legal migration, that the European Integration Fund should
be managed in such a way as to take account of the demands of
local and regional authorities and that the latter should be
actively and constructively involved in negotiations on national
programmes and operational plans;

highlights the crucial contribution of organised groups

14.
of migrant women and NGOs;

15.
stresses the importance of joint measures with the coun-
tries of origin to promote women's rights, and urges the
Commission and the Member States to support measures orga-
nised by local and regional authorities in collaboration with
those countries and their respective local and regional authori-
ties in order to establish suitable indicators;

emphasises that integration means sharing and respecting
8.
the fundamental rights and duties of the individual, which are
part of the European legal acquis, as recognised by the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, the common

points out that gender-sensitive language use is very

16.
important;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Statistics

points to the lack of precise statistical data on immigra-
17.
tion in the European Union, especially illegal immigration and
the full circumstances regarding undeclared work;

25.
believes it is important to widen the use of good prac-
tice in the social and healthcare spheres, establishing a proper
European register in which to classify different policies of excel-
lence and good practice implemented in this area;

believes it is vital that the data-gathering process should
indicators of

18.
include non-binding gender variables and that
gender inequality should be drawn up;

Education, youth and cultural policies

highlights the possibility of analyses based on data
19.
provided at regional and local
for
conducting decentralised policies and ensuring an effective
approach to migration;

level, which are essential

Social services and healthcare

20.
observes that access to social services and healthcare are
often a migrant's first point of contact with the public services
and laws of the host society, and believes that it is essential to
overcome the forms of discrimination that are actually emer-
ging, in order to eliminate healthcare inequalities;

underscores the need for all migrants to be covered by
21.
the health checks and preventive actions carried out by the
appropriate services; also underlines the need to devise and
fund appropriate social and healthcare programmes, based on
objective studies on specific health problems, to combat recur-
rent diseases in the migrant population;

is important

22.
stresses the need to step up appropriate information
and health awareness-raising among people of foreign origin, in
to design
particular women, and believes it
methods of enquiry that are more attuned to individual and
cultural particularities, making use for instance of linguistic and
cultural mediation and dialogue, not only with individual people
and groups, but also with organisations; respect for cultural
diversity must be underpinned by the basic right to healthcare
and women's right of self-determination, especially with respect
to health and sexuality;

23.
favours, therefore, the introduction of targeted measures
in relation to information provision, prevention, support and
awareness-raising with the aim of combating any discriminatory
and/or humiliating practice or tradition and of capitalising on
cross-cultural
effective,
bridge-building/dialogue approaches to preventive and proactive
linguistic or cultural mediation, childbirth
mechanisms (e.g.
preparation classes, social
integration initiatives for migrant
women and cross-cultural consultation schemes) in use in the
various European countries and at local and regional level;

high-quality multidisciplinary

and

highlights the key role played here by public services,
24.
level (in fields such as family
especially at local and regional
advisory services) and their ability to create networks between
services and with local communities, associations of migrant
women and the voluntary sector, i.e. the third sector;

26.
notes that the younger generation is the critical factor
in part because of the
on which future integration depends,
crucial importance of mediation between the society in which a
person is raised and their family of origin;

27.
restates the need for specific and appropriate actions to
enable immigrants to be fully integrated into the host educa-
tional system (in the first place, language-learning), particularly
during the early part of their stay;

highlights the requirement

28.
reflect diversity;

for school curricula that

29.
recalls its views set out in its opinion on the Policy plan
on legal migration concerning the high rate of school failure in
many EU countries among young people of immigrant origin,
and the proposal to establish specific financial and policy instru-
ments to address these problems. It draws particular attention
to the need to strive for all young people to be able to achieve
their aspirations and potential, and notes that particular
emphasis should be placed on the academic achievements of
and educational opportunities for girls; close contacts between
teachers and parents together with complete information on
educational systems should ensure that girls' individual potential
should be recognised and promoted in line with their wishes
and needs;

30.
draws attention to the special situation of migrant
women of all ages, but particularly young girls of foreign origin,
who are sometimes torn between the cultural identity passed on
by their
families and their attraction to the new identity
promoted by the society they have grown up in, and underlines
their need for specific attention, to enable them to become one
of the real strengths underpinning the new Europe;

31.
is concerned about the high level of school failure and
drop-out rates among young girls of foreign origin, who are
disadvantaged in their training and vocational choices, and are
sometimes held back by their families, as well as by cultural
prejudice and difficult economic circumstances; considers that
ensuring equal opportunities for girls (and boys) from immi-
grant families requires parents to be made familiar with the
educational system, thus enabling them to make well-informed
choices on their children's and in particular daughters' educa-
tion, taking into account their individual potential and aspira-
stereotypes; and believes,
tions and transcending gender
furthermore, that initiatives to improve awareness and involve-
ment among all stakeholders are needed to secure real equality
of opportunities;

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 305/51

32.
supports the call, made in the Parliament resolution on
women's immigration, to promote young immigrants' access to
the integrated action programme in the field of lifelong learning
(2007-2013);

41.
strongly underlines the need to encourage women's
independence and entrepreneurship in the economic field, both
in their home countries and in the host countries, by means of
specific measures, for instance by using micro credit;

33.
believes that when framing youth policies, the measures
developed must be inclusive of the cultural and gender diversity
of young people of foreign origin, using their potential as a
resource for intercultural mediation, and encouraging the estab-
lishment of dedicated forums for cross-cultural encounters and
the development of a culture of women's associations;

42. welcomes the attention given in the second edition of
the Handbook on integration to immigrant business support
schemes, believes this type of scheme is essential so as to
contribute to the real independence of women and calls on the
Commission to support these initiatives, for instance profes-
sional and language training in the countries of origin;

34.
stresses that communication, particularly through the
media, plays a key role in the integration of migrant women
the promotion of media-related initiatives to
and calls for
harness the potential in this area and make good the informa-
tion deficit in both immigrant and host communities in order
to overcome stereotypes and negative prejudice;

35.
reiterates in this regard how worthwhile it is to find
ways of cooperating with the media (by promoting voluntary
codes of conduct for journalists), as highlighted in its own
opinion on the Communication A common agenda for integration;

Economic integration

36.
restates the need to promote migrant women's access to
employment and vocational training, not least by means of posi-
tive measures aimed at combating discrimination and at
removing the obstacles that effectively prevent equal opportu-
nities from becoming a reality;

highlights the fact

37.
that migrant women are often
employed in poorly paid, low-skilled temporary jobs, in hidden
economic sectors or in illegal activities, and therefore requests
the Commission to undertake a study to examine this issue and
make recommendations on how best to deal with it;

43.
highlights the particular difficulties faced by women
immigrant workers with children and the consequent need for
measures to facilitate a proper work-life balance, stresses the
important initiatives that have been taken at regional and local
level, not least in conjunction with women's associations and
voluntary groups, and urges the Commission to support these
initiatives;

44.
notes that in many cases women's rights are undermined
in practice by the serious problems they encounter in terms of
transport and mobility,
in part owing to the conditioning
of
their cultures of origin, and calls on the Commission
and Member States to promote independence as regards trans-
port (e.g. driving lessons);

notes that undeclared work often exploits women, and

45.
supports efforts to unearth and combat this phenomenon;

46.
would stress the need to devise appropriate measures to
combat illegal employment, treating the victims of these situa-
tions fairly, and notes the Commission's recent proposal for a
directive designed to harmonise the sanctions against employers
who either employ immigrants who are illegally resident or
employ legally resident immigrants under illegal conditions;

stresses the importance of measures designed to recog-
38.
nise professional skills and educational qualifications or profes-
sional experience gained by women in their countries of origin;

47.
in line with its opinion on the Policy plan on legal migra-
tion, repeats its call to the Commission and Member States to
adopt measures to make it easier for migrants to send back their
remittances and to encourage their use in productive investment
schemes in their countries of origin;

39.
confirms its support for the Commission's aim to draft
a general framework directive on the rights of third country citi-
zens legally employed in a Member State, and in this context to
address the problem of the recognition of professional diplomas
and qualifications;

Protection against forms of coercion and participation rights

40.
notes that, in certain Member States in particular, immi-
grant women are widely employed in care assistant and home
help positions and that this is changing European welfare condi-
tions, and calls on the Commission to study the phenomenon
and consider drawing up specific instruments;

48.
notes that some immigrant women may be particularly
vulnerable to forms of exploitation, the violation of their funda-
mental rights and physical and psychological coercion, and
agrees with the European Parliament that such practices cannot
be in any way justified or tolerated for any cultural or religious
reason;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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49.
therefore joins the European Parliament in calling on
the Member States to take immediate and effective action to
address and combat all forms of violence against women,
in
accordance with national legislation and international and EU
laws; and considers it vital to provide full information on such
legislation in order to ensure that migrants are also aware of it;

urges the Commission to support these measures and

50.
the efforts made by regional and local authorities;

51.
notes the particularly widespread nature of domestic
violence and calls on the Commission to examine effective
measures to prevent and combat it, and bring forward those
measures as a matter of urgency so that they can be incorpo-
rated into EU legislation. Honour crimes are a specific type of
domestic violence, and particular attention should be paid to
them;

stresses that marriages (or de facto unions) between
52.
people of differing nationalities are a citizenship right and are
potentially test benches
integration between
differing cultures, sensibilities, religions and laws. At the same
time,
the fundamental
rights of women and children should be ensured regardless of
whether or not there are reciprocal legislative arrangements;

it emphasises that the protection of

for positive

54.
highlights the fact that in the course of family reunifica-
tion, the individual rights of all the members of the family
group must be respected, and free choice on the part of women
must be guaranteed;

condemns forced marriages and practices that do not
55.
comply with European laws (e.g.
infibulation, polygamy) and
calls upon Member States to take immediate and appropriate
action to ensure the laws that forbid these practices are imple-
mented fully;

in line with its own opinion on the fight against illegal
56.
immigration, reiterates the recommendation to adopt, as a
priority, all necessary measures to put an end to human
trafficking, of which women are the main victims, and to eradi-
cate the organisations responsible and all
forms of slavery,
including those involving children and adolescents, by adopting
appropriate laws and specific action programmes and to recog-
nise that even when some of those victims are illegal
immi-
grants that they are seen to be special cases and that in some
circumstances deportation may lead to extreme violence against
them, or even death, if they are forced to return to their country
of origin;

that

observes

reuniting families

is an increasingly
53.
powerful and positive way of
improving integration, and is
essential for the protection of the right to a family life, and
agrees with the European Parliament that Directive 2003/86/EC
has yet to be applied in a satisfactory manner by all the Member
States;

the

supports

European Parliament's

57.
invitation to
Member States, in its resolution on women's immigration, to show
special awareness in relation to the participation of migrant
women in society and political life, in accordance with national
legislation.

Brussels, 11 October 2007.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE