Vulnerability in migrationThe applicability of european recommendations, international reports and guidelines to the italian system of reception and social services

Abstract

The European Parliament’s Report focuses on the integration processes fora particular category of refugees, considered as belonging to “vulnerable groups”,namely women seeking international protection and female refugees. Womenseeking international protection or refugees, in fact, are bearers of demands andneeds which, in part, are specific to all those people who, often forced to abruptlyabandon their countries of origin, seek protection in host countries, bringing withthemselves a heavy burden of persecution, war, violence and poverty.The humanitarian response along the routes of the eastern Mediterraneanand the western Balkans has set as a priority the introduction of measures to prevent sexual and gender violence in all humanitarian activities. In all reports there isan emphasis on the urgent need to make operators aware of the risks inherent inthe standard reception procedures, and to ensure urgently the specific training ofstaff in order to put in place specific procedures to prevent, identify and respondto sexual and gender violence. This last point, in particular, will be the subject ofthe in-depth examination, as follows: how (and whether) the recommendationsand regulations are changing the reception conditions on the southern borders ofItaly; whether and to what extent the institutions responsible for reception (first orsecond) are equipped to deal with this emergency; how training and professionaldevelopment may intervene to ensure that operators in the field are able to copeadequately with this emergency