who we are

Melissa Network brings together migrant and refugee women building communities and sharing knowledge, experience and care. Its mission is to support them in developing strategies that break the cycle of exclusion and gender-based-violence, promoting agency, solidarity and social cohesion. Melissa's vision of society is not as a collection of isolated cells, but as a beehive of creativity, communication, and exchange.

melissa's story

Melissa Network was envisioned as an open beehive of communication, care and creativity, and was founded in 2014 with the direct involvement of migrant and refugee women leaders. It provides a safe space where women from all over the world share their stories, rebuild their lives and shape their futures.

Women and girls with experience of displacement—including survivors of gender-based violence—find support in one another, learning, healing and belonging. With members from more than 50 countries, it nurtures connections, builds community and advances social change.

"If women stand behind one another and support each other, they can prove to the world that women are not weak, that they are not someone else’s property or wealth, and that they can’t be ignored or marginalised"