The theme of International Women’s Day this year is ‘Give to Gain’- an invitation to reflect on what it truly means to support and collaborate with women. All women. Including those whose journey to sanctuary leads them into the UK asylum system, which can often feel anything but safe.
At JRS UK, this theme resonates deeply with our focus for Lent: walking alongside women seeking safety. Lent is a season of accompaniment, of choosing to walk with those who carry the heaviest burdens.
The women we accompany have fled violence, trauma, and persecution, made dangerous journeys to reach the UK, and arrived to face a system that confronts them with suspicion and disbelief. At the same time, they bring so much to our community.
We asked women at JRS UK, refugee friends and staff alike, what the idea of ‘Giving to Gain’ truly means to them.
Giving that dignifies
Giving is not a transaction. It is a recognition that when we invest in one another, with time, trust, resources, a listening ear, something changes. However, before we can speak of what giving looks like, we must be honest about what women in the asylum system face. As one of our friends described:
“You have to leave your children, your family, your husband. It is so isolating.”
That isolation is compounded by a system that, as Sophie, our Senior Policy Officer, makes clear, disproportionately harms women:
“Women fleeing sexual and gender-based violence must face being interrogated then disbelieved about the worst experiences of their lives.”
And the harm does not stop at the border. Sarah, another refugee friend, speaks to what women continue to face on arrival:
“There is a lot of degrading that happens here. There is sexual abuse. There is severe pressure- you never feel free.”
These are the lived realities of women who have survived violence, loss, and displacement. This is the context in which ‘Give to Gain’ must be understood.
The giving flows both ways
And yet, amid these challenges, women seeking sanctuary continue to give in so many ways. Dallya, our Refugee Activity Coordinator, invites us to see this clearly:
“Giving someone else the opportunity to be a giver, by allowing yourself to receive from them, there is dignity in both roles.”
Those who walk alongside refugee women are often changed by their experiences. For Dallya, the gift has been trust- which, as she says, is not something small when someone has experienced displacement and loss:
“To be trusted with their stories, their worries, and sometimes even their silence, is a gift. I have gained a richer understanding of what it truly means to accompany one another.”
Sophie describes how refugee women have also made fundamental contributions to JRS UK’s advocacy for a fairer asylum system: “It simply would not have been possible to do the work I do without them.” And one refugee friend captures the quiet, sustaining solidarity that grows between women in the community:
“It makes you forget everything- all the bad things. We all have different experiences, but we can share and learn together.”
This is the truth at the heart of ‘Give to Gain’: that giving flows in every direction. When we are willing to receive as well as offer, we create something more powerful than charity. We create community.
What giving looks like
Jasmine, our Senior Destitution Caseworker, defines it simply: “giving someone the information and support to make their own decisions”. Solidarity that dignifies, rather than charity that diminishes. It can look like donating, advocating, or choosing to believe women when they speak. Throughout Lent, as we walk with women seeking safety, it can also look like the quiet commitment to keep showing up.
Ria, our Casework and Support Manager, captures what this looks like in practice:
“Giving opportunity, information, resources, space, time, a listening ear — these things develop not just the individual, but their families, their communities, and by extension, all of society.”
And Jasmine’s message to women everywhere is a powerful place to end: “We are incredibly resilient, capable, and deserve to be heard.”
When the most marginalised women among us are free to thrive; whether they are refugee mothers facing destitution, women awaiting decisions on their asylum case, or survivors of violence who have been disbelieved by the Home Office, – then we can all thrive. But only if we choose to walk together.
This International Women’s Day, our Lenten focus on walking with women seeking safety’ invites you to give, through your prayers, your solidarity and your support, so that together, we might all gain.
