Latin American Women’s Rights Service
We are a user-led, feminist and human rights organisation focused on addressing the practical and strategic needs of Latin American migrant women displaced by poverty and violence. Latin Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic minorities in the UK, but desipite this they remain invisible. Our service users experience significant disadvantage as migrants, as women, and as members of an invisible minority ethnic group in this country.
Founded in 1983, LAWRS’ mission is to “to provide Latin American migrant women with tools to assert our rights, and pursue personal empowerment and social change”. We directly support more than 5,000 women annually through culturally and linguistically specialist advice, information, counselling and psychotherapy, advocacy, development programmes, and workshops.
Migrant and refugee women face multiple barriers when arriving in the EU and the current political anti-migrant climate has made their situations direr. Experiences of gender-based abuse, exploitation at work and isolation have been exacerbated by the progressive erosion of migrant and women’s rights.
35 year ago, we started our work in a time where domestic violence was only physical abuse and we increased our services accordingly to the development of policies and legislation through the years. We are proud to follow the steps of amazing Latin American women who came before us and we hope to do our part for the ones to come. (more…)
Last year, our volunteers contributed with more than 900 hours of counselling, 2370 hours of case and administrative work, 715 hours of interpreting, and 1800 hours organising groups and integration activities.
THANK YOU for making such a difference! (more…)
Migrant women facing violence have the right to seek help and support, regardless of their immigration status, but often are more afraid of facing deportation. All women have the right to live free from violence.
Step Up Migrant Women UK seeks to establish a firewall protecting victims’ rights. (more…)
LAWRS Development and Outreach Coordinator Nahir de la Silva explains how LAWRS and the consortium Diverse Communities Health Voice found that Latin American women in Islington need better quality and gender-specific interpretation services to access healthcare. (more…)
Se esta llevando a cabo una encuesta en línea que tiene como objetivo comprender mejor las experiencias de agresión, abuso, coerción, el control y la explotación sufridas por mujeres lationoamericanas en el hogar, en el trabajo y (more…)
