Migrant women’s empowerment was the topic of a joint event organised by RiskMonitor and Academy Ekaterina Karavelova on the 26th of June in Sofia in the framework of INTEGRA project. The event gave the floor to five women who are migrants in Bulgaria and Bulgarian women whose work is focused on providing legal and humanitarian services to migrants. The panel discussion explored the reasons behind the root causes of why women have to flee extremely conservative societies, the difficulties they experience on the road to safety and the challenges they encounter in host societies. 

After the panel discussion the participants worked in small groups to discuss what kind of specific support is needed for migrant women in Sofia. The event raised awareness of a topic that often is left overlooked and silenced due to its complexity. Migrant women typically have numerous vulnerabilities that need to be addressed such as health issues, being single parents, the risk of trafficking and exploitation, limited access to the labour market due to residency status, childcare responsibility, etc., Often, embedded cultural barriers prevent them from seeking help and defending their rights. Negative attitudes towards them on the part of the host society nationals attitude make it even harder to find accommodation or work.