26/06/2026
Yesterday, we took part in a roundtable discussion on violence against refugee and migrant women in Cyprus, co-organised by the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies MIGS and UNHCR Cyprus.
Our Executive Director Lama Swas spoke about the compounded realities facing women in displacement, and specifically women living at Kofinou Reception Centre:
• Women living at Kofinou Reception Centre face compounded isolation, carrying the weight of caregiving alone, with little space beyond survival
• A refugee woman has to try ten times harder than others to reach the same social, professional, or financial position, due to the added layer of displacement
• Gender-based violence is not taken seriously, even when women are willing to come forward and report it
• When institutions are absent or slow, community and peer support are not a supplement. They are often the only thing that works
• Most programmes are designed top-down, by people with no lived experience of displacement, and rarely reflect what women in this situation actually need
Based on what we heard and what we know from our own work, our recommendations to organisations and policymakers were clear:
• Plan with refugee women, not for them
• Scan for needs before designing programmes, not after
• Build safe and accessible pathways for women to report gender-based violence, supported by trained staff who can guide them through the process
• Stop framing vulnerability as a fixed state. The goal is to work toward women leaving that state, not managing them within it
• Involve refugee women in the design, delivery, and evaluation of every programme that affects them
Refugee-women-led organisations must have a seat at the table, not as guests, but as leaders. When we talk about refugee women, refugee women must be in the room. When decisions are made that affect our lives, we must be part of making them.
