International Aid Chatline for Refugee Women

Location

Imagine you are a woman who has fled from a war-torn country with your children. In your new country, you have no identity documents or legal status -- so you have no way to obtain a job and provide for your family. You are smart, motivated, and a proven survivor, but you can't seem to gain a foothold in your new society. You are constantly afraid and uncertain about your future.

One simple thing can make a critical difference to your economic opportunities in this new land: knowledge. The knowledge that, as a refugee, you are guaranteed a full spectrum of human rights (including legal status, employment, free movement and more) gives you the power and courage to demand those rights in your new home. Knowledge can give you the tools to navigate an unfamiliar system to obtain legal status, seek employment, and enroll your children in school. Knowledge can transform your human rights from paper promises into daily reality.

Asylum Access was founded to make human rights a reality for refugee women all around the world. Asylum Access is currently using online chat technology to create a secure system whereby refugee women can access custom-tailored information about their human rights.

Through Asylum Access's Chatline technology, refugee women can use internet cafes or mobile phones to learn about their rights from pro bono lawyers across the globe. Refugee women in camps in Asia or urban shantytowns in Africa can "chat" one-on-one with a lawyer in the US or Europe, getting information on their rights and exploring options to assert those rights. With this knowledge, refugee women are empowered to get legal status, seek employment and rebuild their lives.

As their knowledge grows, these refugee women become resources for other women. They share their knowledge, educating and empowering others within their communities. And they share their economic opportunities: As refugee women get jobs and start businesses, they can hire other refugee women. Through the power of Asylum Access's Chatline, refugee women can reclaim their economic power and become a positive force for growth in their new homelands.