Migrant Women Press is partnering with JustRight Scotland for the international campaign, “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” Find out how this organisation is advancing women’s rights and tackling gender-based violence.
Written by Laura Ndanuko
As part of the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Migrant Women Press (MWP) is proud to partner with JustRight Scotland to highlight the significant barriers and challenges faced by migrant and ethnically diverse women.
This partnership is dedicated to raising awareness of the structural inequalities that make women from these underrepresented groups particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV) and to advocating for systemic changes that ensure their protection and access to justice. “In Scotland, initiatives like the 16 Days of Activism have had a significant impact by raising public awareness, shaping national policies, and providing essential support services to survivors. This has strengthened our collective response to gender-based violence across communities”, explained Annamaria De Felice, Communication Manager at JustRight Scotland.
Migrant and ethnically diverse women are frequently excluded from mainstream conversations. Yet, these women are at a heightened risk of exploitation and abuse in different stages of their migration journey. Their stories rarely make the media headlines, leaving those struggles invisible to the broader public.
An article published by Women in Journalism Scotland featuring Juliana da Penha, the founding editor of Migrant Women Press, explores this topic and voices the thought behind MWP. “By placing the diverse voices of migrant women at the centre of our journalism work, we provide an intersectional perspective on migration discussions, confronting the misrepresentation of migrant communities and the systemic lack of diversity in the media landscape.”
JustRight Scotland is a leading human rights organisation that uses the law to defend and extend peoples’ rights across the country, including marginalised and minoritised communities. Through their legal centres, focused on key areas – Women’s Rights, Migrant & Refugee Rights, Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation, and Equality & Human Rights – they provide legal advice and representation to people and organisations, run helplines, and produce know-your-rights factsheets on a variety of issues that affect their clients, such as migration, trafficking, and access to justice. These factsheets are available in multiple languages, and they are a vital resource for individuals who may not have access to formal legal advice, helping them to understand and exercise their rights.
JustRight Scotland collaborates with various organisations, including Amnesty International, Inclusion Scotland, the Scottish Refugee Council, and the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group.
Through one of their legal centres – an innovative collaboration between Rape Crisis Scotland, JustRight Scotland and the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic – called Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), they promote women’s rights by providing essential legal and advocacy support to women affected by abuse and violence. The SWRC offers free, confidential helplines, remote legal advice surgeries and specialist legal representation to help women navigate the justice system. By working with expert solicitors and advocacy workers, the SWRC strives to close the gap between women’s experiences of gender-based violence and their ability to access justice.
At the core of JustRight Scotland’s work is a powerful vision for a just and equitable society. JustRight Scotland envisions a Scotland where everyone’s human rights are a reality, with equal access to justice and systems that work for all and are fixed when they fall short.
One of their recent initiatives is the podcast Our Rights Stories, a partnership with JustCitizens to highlight the value of human rights in Scotland, aiming to dismantle barriers of silence and stigma by supporting individuals and the organisations that advocate for it. In season 2, for instance, they underscored the urgent need to prevent violence against women by investing in organisations that provide essential services to survivors of gender-based violence, committing to structural reforms in the legal aid system to remove systemic barriers to justice, and raising awareness of all forms of gender-based violence, including coercive control and economic abuse.
The combined efforts by Migrant Women Press, JustRight Scotland, and other partners involved in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence seek to shine a spotlight on the often-overlooked stories of migrant and ethnically diverse women survivors of GBV, including legal insights into the challenges of women with insecure immigration status and Non-Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), which prevents many victims from accessing emergency support and benefits.
“For organisations like JustRight Scotland, partnering with such initiatives is vital as it enhances our efforts to combat gender-based violence and aligns with our core values of social justice. This year’s theme resonates strongly with the mission of our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), emphasising the urgent need to address systemic issues and protect the rights and safety of women and marginalised groups”, explained Annamaria De Felice.
As part of our campaign, we selected 16 journalists and writers to produce stories highlighting the unique challenges faced by migrant and ethnically diverse women. To support them, we conducted a series of workshops, offering valuable insights and practical tools to help them write more effectively and thoughtfully on these important issues.
On September 25th, we teamed up with the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, Rape Crisis Scotland, and Zero Tolerance Scotland and held an online session focused on gender-based violence, trauma-informed approaches, and responsible reporting on the issue. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the vital work of these leading organisations in supporting women’s rights, the services they offer, and how to approach writing about gender-based violence with greater sensitivity and awareness. Annamaria, representing JustRight Scotland through this partnership, also participated in the voting process to select the 16 articles and will be part of the editorial team, using her journalism experience to help refine the pieces that will be published during the campaign.
“Collaborations like these amplify the voices of those often overlooked by creating
platforms for diverse groups to share their experiences, ensuring their stories are heard and their needs addressed in both policy and practice”, said Annamaria De Felice. “We look forward to collaborating with Migrant Women Press in the future”.
Through this partnership, Migrant Women Press and JustRight Scotland are committed to amplifying the voices of these women, providing the journalists and writers selected for this project with the information, all the legal advice and support available, and advocating for changes that address the root causes of their vulnerability. We aim to drive meaningful change and ensure migrant women are protected, empowered, and heard.
Learn more about JustRight Scotland here.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or in need of urgent protection, call the police on 999.
For more info on where to find help, click here.
