Migrant women who report sexual violence in France are often confronted with a “double violence” when dealing with authorities, Amnesty International said in a report, warning that they risk being ignored, arrested or even deported when seeking protection.
Migrant women face particularly high risks when reporting abuse, Amnesty found, despite legal protections for all women, including those who are undocumented.
Many fear expulsion, with the report, published Wednesday, pointing to multiple cases where migrant women were detained after trying to file a complaint with police.
Amnesty described their treatment as a violation of both national and international law, which grants everyone the right to report sexual violence, regardless of immigration status.
“There are numerous barriers,” said Lola Schulmann, Amnesty international’s justice and gender advocacy officer. “Women without legal status can be arrested or expelled, even though they came to the police because they were victims of sexual violence.”
Other barriers include language difficulties, a lack of interpreters in some police stations and accusations that they are reporting abuse just to obtain residency papers.
Some police stations have refused to record complaints, instead directing women to file a simple report that has no legal standing, Amnesty alleged.
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Sex workers, trans women targeted
The report also found that sex workers were similarly blocked from filing complaints, with authorities refusing to take their cases seriously or assuming the violence was part of their work.
The issue is compounded by France’s criminalisation of sex work, which Amnesty said leaves workers vulnerable and less likely to come forward.
Meanwhile trans women face transphobia and mistreatment by police, Amnesty said – with incidents where victims were misgendered or humiliated while trying to report abuse.
These women are "overexposed" to violence and face enormous hurdles when seeking justice, Schulmann added.
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Calls for better police training
The charity is urging better police training, arguing that officers should be able to handle the complexities faced by these vulnerable women.
It also wants to see sex work decriminalised, arguing that this would help reduce the stigma and abuse faced by women in the industry.
“We can’t keep treating these women as if their pain is part of their story,” Violaine Husson, of the migrant support NGO La Cimade, told FranceInfo.
“Anyone who suffers violence should be able to seek protection in France, regardless of their legal status.”
Amnesty’s findings are based on interviews with women, police reports and data from more than 20 civil society organisations.
