On 4 March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion on Ukraine, the EU activated a Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) to offer persons fleeing Ukraine access to accommodation, healthcare, and other services across the European Union.
This type of protection is activated only in specific circumstances of a ‘mass influx of displaced persons’ arriving in the EU, and requires Member States to offer temporary protection immediately, with administrative formalities ‘reduced to a minimum’.
EIGE’s report „Women fleeing the war: Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare in the EU” highlights that many EU Member States introduced specific legal and policy instruments to regulate access to healthcare services for persons under temporary protection.
Survey results indicate that Member States approach the requests flexibly: 3 Member States grant access to sexual and reproductive healthcare immediately, while other require some form of documentation.
Legal restrictions continue to hinder victims' access to crucial health services
However, EIGE’s research highlights prominent gaps in services offered to victims arriving in the EU. In in some Member States victims are not legally entitled to all six services that are considered essential in the clinical management of (conflict-related) sexual violence.
In addition, the evidence points to the existence of various legal requirements that hinder women’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services and accentuates the particular vulnerability of minors who arrive in the EU without a parent or legal guardian.
The data visualisation above captures the legal entitlements in the provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare services in Member States as indicated by research respondents.
The data visualisation above captures the legal restrictions in the provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare services in Member States as indicated by research respondents.