Abstract
Trama di terre (Weave of Lands) is a feminist association 2 set up in 1997 in Imola, in the province of Bologna (Italy), by a group of women from different backgrounds. Most of the founders and the members are of migrant origin. The main purpose of the association is to assert grassroot women's rights while working for concrete political answers to the concerns of women, especially of those who usually remain on the sidelines of the mainstream because of their class, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The association provides a range of advice and support services to women, such as a cultural center, including a school of Italian language for foreign women, a women's library, an antiviolence center, including two shelters, a housing service for women in need, and a reception project addressed to refugee and asylum seeking women.
Abstract
The association currently hosts around 30 women, and every year hundreds of women come across Trama in order to find support and help. Furthermore, the association is member of a wide network of institutions, non-governmental organizations, and universities, such as the Euromed Feminist Initiative, aimed at researching women's rights and developing gender-sensitive programs and policies at local, national, and European level. Since 2014, because of the increasing number of women who cross the Mediterranean and then apply for asylum in Italy, the association has been consistently engaged in developing
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In search of liberty through self-determination: women in need of international protection and violence against women in the contemporary context of globalized migrations
Giulia D'Odorico 1
Trama di terre (Weave of Lands) is a feminist association 2 set up in 1997 in Imola, in the province of Bologna (Italy), by a group of women from different backgrounds. Most of the founders and the members are of migrant origin. The main purpose of the association is to assert grassroot women's rights while working for concrete political answers to the concerns of women, especially of those who usually remain on the sidelines of the mainstream because of their class, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The association provides a range of advice and support services to women, such as a cultural center, including a school of Italian language for foreign women, a women's library, an antiviolence center, including two shelters, a housing service for women in need, and a reception project addressed to refugee and asylum seeking women.
Giulia D'Odorico 1
The association currently hosts around 30 women, and every year hundreds of women come across Trama in order to find support and help. Furthermore, the association is member of a wide network of institutions, non-governmental organizations, and universities, such as the Euromed Feminist Initiative, aimed at researching women's rights and developing gender-sensitive programs and policies at local, national, and European level. Since 2014, because of the increasing number of women who cross the Mediterranean and then apply for asylum in Italy, the association has been consistently engaged in developing . This number includes missing people. In particular, Trama di terre is concerned with improving the specific life conditions of women seeking international protection in Italy, taking as a starting point their own words and the life experiences they share with us during the hospitality. Currently, we host 30 women and two children. They come from Cameroun, Eritrea, Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia. The association financially sustains two of them, since they have been excluded from the official aid system: it provides them with immediate relief through housing, health and economic support, legal aid, and psychosocial care along with the asylum procedure.
Giulia D'Odorico 1
In 2016, some international reports, such as those of Amnesty International (2016), the Women's Refugee Commission (Cosgrave et al., 2016) , and Save the Children (Coppola & Lo Iacono, 2016) , described how the majority of women and girls seeking asylum in Europe experienced multiple forms of violence against women throughout their life-course, in their countries of origin, transit, and arrival. In Trama, we try to create a space where women may share their experiences of violence and find support. Most women tell us about the extremely gender discriminating context they were born and grew up in. Most of them did not have any access to formal education or sexual and reproductive services. Some were forced into early marriage -even several times -with older men, and this practice always includes marital rape and unwanted pregnancies. Some others were forced into military service, including different forms of exploitation, torture, and sexual harassment, such as in the case of Eritreans. Other women, like the Somali we meet, fled war contexts dominated by religious fundamentalist groups, where women suffered rape or extreme violence by official/unofficial armed groups. Many women are at risk while they are traveling to Europe, in particular in Libya, where they are at the mercy of traffickers, camp guardians, and official as well as unofficial armed groups. Most women reported being held in private houses and jails against their will, while others have been forced to work without remuneration or to prostitute themselves in the so-called 'connection houses'. Some women have been allowed on board to cross the Mediterranean only by 'accepting' to be raped by the traffickers. Even in the transit and reception centers, they can face violence. They often do not have the opportunity to meet experienced and gender-trained personnel in reception centers. In addition, there are no sex-segregated facilities and female specificshelters. Most of them declare that they feel at high risk of -or in some cases that they have experienced -sexual molestation or sexual coercion. Moreover, sexual and reproductive health care services are not always immediately accessible. This could prevent the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections or offer access to safe and legal abortion, especially if they suffered rape during the journey.
Giulia D'Odorico 1
One of the main issues that is questioning our daily work with women is the trafficking and sexual exploitation of many women asylum seekers. (Coppola & Lo Iacono, 2016) , in Italy, around 1,225 women and girls entered this program. Note that 80% of victims are of Nigerian origin.
Giulia D'Odorico 1
Many others have access to reception measures within the asylum system. Trama is hosting six Nigerian women aged between 19 and 27. All of them have been trafficked and many have been forced into prostitution in Libya. They are still at risk of sexual exploitation in Italy and across Europe. This situation challenges our practices of reception, especially in terms of women's safety and legal support. To conclude, contemporary migration flows challenge our daily work as well as the Italian refugee protection system, while encouraging us to develop adequate measures, tools, and long-term aid policies, with a specific focus on the situation of women and young girls and the different forms of violence they may suffer. We urge the asylum system to recognize women the right to claim asylum based on Violence-Against-Women (VAW), as well as to develop more policies to effectively protect the rights of women seeking asylum.

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