In France, there are 95 waiting zones, areas of deprivation of liberty where people who have reached the French or European borders are kept, when the Police consider that they do not fulfil the conditions of entry or that they are seeking asylum. These areas are marked by the opacity of administrative practices which tend to create situations of violations of the rights of the maintained persons. This situation is particularly critical for women: gender and/or physical violence experienced during migration, limited access to basic necessities, gender diversity and promiscuity…
Following numerous observation missions, the Anafé decided to set up specific support for these women. The project includes targeted actions through legal permanencies and observations, as well as advocacy work on gender-related violence.
For 30 years, the Anafé has been acting in favour of the rights of foreigners in difficulty at the borders or in a waiting zone, through the two aspects of its action: operational (legal assistance through physical and telephone permanencies, observations of hearings and practices, visits to waiting areas, gathering of information and testimony, field missions, litigation, training, development of tools and individual monitoring) and policy (analysis, communication, awareness and advocacy.
