The SAMEN (‘Together’ in Dutch) project aimed to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) within migrant communities in the Netherlands and facilitate access to healthcare. Although the project ended on 31 August 2024, the below information materials, recommendations, and services provided by partner organization Dokters van de Wereld remain relevant.
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Here, you will find telephone numbers of organizations that can help you
Gender-based violence is the umbrella term for any harmful act against a person's will. This violence is often based on socially ascribed differences between gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. There are different forms of SGBV: physical, sexual, psychological, socioeconomic and the denial of resources or services. SAMEN addresses this type of violence in migrant communities in the Netherlands, since migrants are at increased risk of experiencing SGBV before, during and after their journey.
In collaboration with Dokters van de Wereld NL SAMEN is implemented in six Dutch cities: Amsterdam, Arnhem, The Hague, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht.
What does SAMEN do?
- Teams of trained cultural mediators and medical professionals offer psychosocial support to migrants.
The psychosocial support takes the form of thematic meetings, individual counselling, and METS (Methodology for the Empowerment of Trauma Survivors) groups, provided by Dokters van de Wereld. Cultural mediators and medical professionals have been trained to open the conversation on SGBV within migrant communities in their native language. Want to know more about the help Dokters van de Wereld offers? For consultation hours or to make an appointment, check this website. - Strengthen the healthcare sector through workshops.
The workshop offer is tailored to the demand of the respective organization. Would you like to know more about how the SAMEN team makes SGBV discussable within migrant communities? Or what SGBV and migration have to do with each other? And would you like to become more aware of the risks within this target group? If so, contactThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss the possibilities. - Promote information exchange and collaboration in the chain around the target group. During SAMEN’s roundtable meetings, we bring organizations together to discuss SGBV in migrant communities within their city. Good collaboration and short lines of communication between different parties enable early signaling and quick referral.
- Developing information materials.
These materials focus on the experiences and stories of cultural mediators. - Lessons from the field are collected in recommendations report.
This report is shared with the wider SAMEN network, contributing to a sustainable, holistic, and inclusive approach to SGBV.
Would you like to know more about SAMEN?
Contact Sanne van ’t Hullenaar (IOM), via
or Dorothee Riepma (Dokters van de Wereld) via
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or DG JUST. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
