Refugee and immigrant women have unique needs and require unique services to thrive in resettlement and achieve cultural and economic integration.
Refugee women and girls can be healthy, safe, and empowered with the right support. However, because of past experiences with violence, often lower socioeconomic status, and greater language barriers, when resettling, many women experience significant health issues and lack of health education, high rates of abuse, and challenges entering the U.S. workforce.
The mission of IINE’s WILLOW Fund is to improve refugee women and girls’ resettlement experiences by removing barriers that impede their access to health education, safety, and employment. We begin by building trust.
We introduce information on women’s unique health issues and facilitate connection to health providers. We create a safe space, talk about violence against women, and discuss safety. We offer English language programs for mothers, youth mentoring for girls, and job training and placement.
Every Woman Healthy: Refugee Women’s Health Initiative
Involuntarily displaced, many refugee women and girls are survivors of human rights abuses, including sexual violence that can profoundly affect their reproductive health. Through focused programming, IINE will support women’s access to trauma-based, culturally sensitive care, including quality health and mental wellness services.
Every Woman Safe: Safe Women, Safe Girls Programming
As refugee women adjust to new social norms and opportunities for increased personal autonomy, their risk for gender-based violence increases. IINE will introduce new violence prevention, crisis response, and legal support.
Economic Empowerment Programming
To further refugee women’s participation in education, language classes, and job training, IINE will introduce new education and economic-focused programming that will include childcare and transportation support to help refugee women achieve greater personal and economic freedom.
