Final Evaluation: Contribución a la protección internacional de mujeres víctimas de violencia de género en situaciones de migración en México| Contribution to the international protection of migrant women survivors of gender-based violence in Mexico

Location: Mexico 

Grantee: Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, A.C. (IMUMI) 

Grant period: 1 October 2019 - 31 December 2022 

Grant amount: USD 450,000 

Authors/editors: INNO - Innovación para la Filantropía  

Publication year: 2023 

The Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, A.C. (IMUMI – Institute for Women in Migration), with the support of the UN Trust Fund, implemented the project “Contribution to the international protection of migrant women survivors of gender-based violence in Mexico” from October 2019 to December 2022. The project aimed to build a support strategy for survivors through legal representation and direct psychosocial support, generating knowledge on the international protection needs of migrant women and girl survivors, and on advocacy for institutional and behavioural change. The project's main objectives were to: 

• increase the capacities and knowledge of legal, political and civil society actors; and
• provide a safe platform to activate international protection protocols for migrant women and girls who are survivors of gender-based and sexual violence in Mexico.

The final evaluation found that despite structural and operational challenges, the project’s activities were achieved and its objectiveswere covered effectively. 

Main findings of the evaluation:  

• The project positively impacted on migrant women's lives, mainly regarding their migration status certainty and their emotional and physical health care. Unanticipated positive effects were also generated, especially for women who had been separated from their families. IMUMI provided a comprehensive multidisciplinary response to vulnerable migrant women, providing the legal assistance planned within the project and additional critical services to meet the pressing needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The project promoted major institutional changes to protect migrant women and girls who had survived violence. Through extensive legal research and IMUMI’s experience, the project provided critical psychosocial protection practices within the asylum process in Mexico, including assistance during asylum interviews.
• The project contributed to making visible institutional violence against migrant women and girls, and to overcoming institutional, legal and political barriers faced by migrant women survivors and their families when accessing justice. In some cases, IMUMI assisted as legal counsellor in court cases, which increased the project’s national and regional visibility.