A Call to Global Conscience

Immediate global attention and accountability are required

This report serves as an urgent warning to the global community on behalf of The IWI: International Women’s Initiative. It documents a systematically underreported human rights crisis facing migrant women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that is a rapidly escalating under the Trump Administration.

Based on verified research, survivor testimonies, and independent investigations, this document outlines a pattern of state-produced gender-based violence (GBV) and structural harm that renders migrant women exceptionally vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and maltreatment and life-threatening conditions. The evidence indicates that these violations constitute a systemic, politically sustained risk of severe physical, sexual, and psychological harm.1

This is not merely a domestic policy issue; it is a test of the United States’ adherence to international human rights obligations, specifically the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)2 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)3. Immediate global attention and accountability are required.

The Foundation for Action: International Standards on Women’s Rights and Safety

The protection of women against GBV is an international obligation. In reference to CEDAW and the United Nations (UN), see specific obligations below:

• CEDAW Article 2: Obliges states to eliminate discrimination against women and take all appropriate measures to ensure protection.4

• CEDAW Article 5: Requires states to challenge societal and cultural patterns that perpetuate prejudice against women.5

• CEDAW General Recommendation No. 35: Recognises gender-based violence as a severe form of discrimination requiring urgent remedial action.6

• Mandela Rules (UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners): Establish minimum protection for detainees, including access to healthcare, protection from abuse, and humane conditions.7

Whilst the United States has signed but not ratified the CEDAW, it has asserted that domestic legal frameworks provide adequate and equivalent protection for women. The policies and practices within ICE detention under the Trump Administration represent are actively producing and reproducing conditions in which migrant women are exposed to harm, denied essential services, and rendered invisible in reporting mechanisms. As further evidenced below, the documented treatment of migrant women in ICE detention demonstrates a very clear failure of these protections in practice, revealing a significant gap between state claims of protections, and the reality of the situation for women facing intersectional vulnerabilities.

The Evidence of an Escalating Crisis: Structural Violence and Gender-Based Violence

GBV is frequently understood as interpersonal abuse; however, in ICE detention, structural violence is inseparable from interpersonal GBV. By embedding harm into legal, administrative, and institutional systems, the state actively produces the conditions in which violence becomes inevitable.8

Key findings include:

1. Detention and family separation: Migrant women are detained for prolonged periods, often without access to safe spaces, legal counsel, or family support, increasing vulnerability to sexual assault and psychological trauma.9

2. Medical and reproductive neglect: Pregnant women have been denied adequate care, resulting in miscarriages and untreated life-threatening conditions.10, 11

3. Policy-driven harm: Far-right immigration policies intentionally restrict access to domestic abuse services and legal remedies, leaving survivors with the stark choice: “stay with your abuser or risk deportation”12

4. Institutional complicity: Systemic denial of accountability by the state and within ICE facilities normalises harm and signals impunity for perpetrators.13

Survivor testimonies and NGO reports consistently describe an environment of fear, dehumanisation, and institutional neglect. One survivor stated, “These crimes are not private crimes; they are systemic crimes”14, illustrating that these harms are politically produced and maintained. Trump’s administration is working to reduce interpersonal GBV to that of a private matter, removing all responsibility from the state and enabling the continued silencing and invisibility of women, especially those facing intersectional vulnerabilities.15

The convergence of these data points indicates a severe, state-enabled threat to migrant women in ICE detention. Structural violence and state-perpetuated GBV intersect to create predictable, life-threatening outcomes.

Limited international scrutiny and accountability exacerbate the risk, making immediate intervention both a moral and legal imperative.

A Call for Global Solidarity and Accountability

The IWI urges governments, national and international organisations to take the following immediate actions:

1. Independent oversight: Conduct urgent inspections and monitoring of ICE detention facilities, with focus on protection against gender-based violence.

2. Access to healthcare and legal support: Guarantee reproductive, mental health, and general medical care for detained women, alongside unrestricted access to legal representation.

3. Policy reform: Repeal policies requiring survivors to prove immigration status to access domestic violence services; end practices that exacerbate vulnerability.16

4. Protective measures: Establish confidential reporting systems, safe shelters, and gender-sensitive support units for migrant survivors.

5. Global awareness campaigns: Mobilise international advocacy to pressure the U.S. government to comply with CEDAW and other human rights obligations.17

Breaking the silence is the first step toward breaking the cycle of abuse. Without urgent structural reform, migrant women will continue to face predictable, politically sustained, structural harm; a human rights emergency demanding immediate global attention.