Women and children asylum seekers in Lesbos are living in "horrendous conditions" and authorities are "failing to provide adequate protection", according to Human Rights Watch. The organization is calling for a change in policy on the Greek islands.
Greek authorities "are failing to provide adequate protection for women and girls living in government-run, European Union-sponsored facilities for asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos", according to Human Rights Watch.
In November, the organization interviewed 25 women and children asylum seekers living in the Moria hotspot on the Greek island. "They described harassment, the threat of gender-based violence, and health risks," the organization said. It "found that the conditions resulted from insufficient security, poor hygiene and sanitation facilities, and failures in the system to identify and address the needs of vulnerable people".
'Sexual harrassment and insecurity' in Moria
"There is no excuse for failing to meet even the most basic standards for the protection of women and girls almost two years after the EU-Turkey deal entered into force," said Hillary Margolis, women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The risks to women's health and safety in Moria are dire, and as winter arrives, they will only get worse." The organization said thousands of women and children are "trapped" on the Greek islands in "horrendous conditions" due to the "containment" policy for asylum seekers aimed at speeding up processing of returns to Turkey.
"As of December 13, the population in Moria, which has a capacity of 2,330, was 6,238," HRW said. The women interviewed by the organization described "pervasive sexual harassment and a persistent sense of insecurity" in Moria. They said authorities are unresponsive to their complaints and do not take adequate action to ensure their safety. "One woman said she had been approached by a fellow asylum seeker asking for sex in exchange for money," the report said.
A 13-year-old girl from Syria who lives in a section of Moria reserved for women and girls traveling alone said male asylum-seekers call to women and girls using insulting and sexual terms. "The guys [living here], it's like they've never seen a girl before," she said.The women said they feel unsafe due to frequent fights that break out in the hotspot, as well as inadequate facilities that hinder women and girls' access to toilets and showers as well as a lack of running water.
'End containment policy'
"Greek authorities, with EU support, should promptly investigate reports of harassment and violence in Moria and take urgent action to ensure that asylum-seeking women and girls can move freely around the hotspot and safely and securely access all of its facilities," HRW said. "The recent announcement by Greece that 5,000 asylum seekers will be moved from the islands to the mainland by December 15 is a positive development" but the measure "is not sufficient to alleviate the overcrowding or address the systemic issues linked to the containment policy that have created this emergency situation. The Greek government should end the containment policy on the islands" and "transfer asylum seekers to the mainland, and provide adequate accommodation".