The narratives in this report are from professionals working with migrant women, and migrant and refugee women themselves. The experiences, which are varied and based in different EU countries (Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Greece, UK, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Finland and Ireland) give us a substantial overview of what is being achieved and what needs to be tackled in relation to mental health care systems in Europe.
During migration, in addition to living with pre-migration traumatic experiences, many women encountered different stressors, such as restrictions and barriers in access to housing, education, health, career; low or no income, the burdensome and unwelcoming processing of their asylum cases, lack of governmental support and discrimination in the services, which left them with feelings of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of these women often linked their negative emotions such as stress and anxiety to loss of professional status and having no power over their lives - they felt like they had ‘become a nobody’.
The report highlights the importance of overcoming language barriers, the gaps in the intercultural understanding of the professionals, long waiting times to see a mental health specialist, lack of access to basic information, lack of awareness about services and the cultural taboos about mental health within the migrant communities. The emphases on training and recruitment of professionals from the migrant background in the health care system, availability of specialist services with expertise in service provision for women, women friendly programmes and support groups in assisting women in distress and with poor mental health, were highly recommended.
By exploring the impact on mental health of women-specific issues such as motherhood and maternity, as well as the forms of violence primarily affecting women among migrants such as domestic violence, prostitution, trafficking and female genital mutilation, this report gives different viewpoints on how the authorities can review their policies and approaches and embed the suggested recommendations in their existing systems.