Dakar – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the German federal government, through its Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), regionally presented the research study “Gendered Reintegration Experiences and Gender Sensitive/Responsive/Transformative Approaches to Reintegration” during a two-day workshop on 27 and 28 September in 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Participants discussed current challenges and exchanged good practices and recommendations to advance programming and advocacy on gender-sensitive and transformative approaches to sustainable reintegration.  

Findings from the study, as well as a recent research project by the University of Friburg on Gender, Return Migration and Reintegration in the Gambia, Guinea and Senegal, showcased that return and reintegration experiences are strongly interlinked with, and influenced by, gender and that traditional gender-binary roles can frequently result in discriminatory treatment during the reintegration process.  

“As partners in the migration and reintegration space, GIZ is committed to increasing awareness on gender-sensitive reintegration. The results of the study on gendered reintegration shall help to fill existing data and knowledge gaps.” said Kwaku Yeboah, GIZ Ghana’s Ghanaian-European Center for Jobs, Migration and Development. 

Bridging the gap between availability of data, knowledge, and evidence, and creating spaces for practitioners and policymakers to reflect on this topic is critical to identify solutions for gender-responsive and transformative reintegration programming. The workshop provided an opportunity to fine-tune practical recommendations to improve reintegration assistance at the individual, community, and structural level, while responding to current protection challenges and vulnerabilities faced by returning migrants of all genders.  

“The study reveals an urgent need for gender-sensitive and responsive solutions in our work. In partnership with the Government of Ghana, we strive to enhance the lives of the migrants we serve through gender-sensitive, gender-responsive and gender-transformative reintegration assistance, to ensure that no female migrant is left behind,” said Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, IOM Ghana Chief of Mission.   

The workshop gathered reintegration practitioners from 17 Sub-Saharan African countries, namely Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and Togo. It was supported by BMZ and GIZ as well as the European Union under the Migrant Protection, Return and Reintegration Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MPRR-SSA). In 2022, IOM assisted over 33 000 migrants (80% men, 20% women) to return to West and Central Africa, with Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, the Niger and Côte d’Ivoire being the main countries of origin in the region in terms of number of assisted migrants. 

For more information, please contact Iliana Flores, Knowledge Management Support Officer - IOM HQ at ilflores@iom.int.