Our Reports & Media Coverage

Reports

Two women with short dark hair and athletic clothing practicing self-defense or martial arts outside at night near a chain-link fence with barbed wire, one woman in a white t-shirt with purple graphics and the other in a light gray t-shirt, engaging in a training exercise or sparring.
A classroom with a group of women, some wearing hijabs, sitting and listening to a woman at the front who is sitting at a desk, writing on a whiteboard with notes and drawings. The room has posters and drawings on the walls and a window with closed blinds.

EmpoverVan in the Media

  • Muay Thai fighter teaches refugees self-defence

    27.02.2026 · In this BBC feature, Muay Thai fighter and EmpowerVan volunteer Kat Samuelson shares how she uses her skills to teach self-defence to women in refugee camps near Athens, focusing less on perfect technique, and more on confidence, boundaries, and feeling powerful in their own bodies.

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  • Self‑Defence, Hope and Community for Girls on the Move

    26.11.2025 · This NRT feature follows our founder, ClaudeJonkmans, from her hometown of Deep River, Canada, to refugee camps across Europe, where she launches EmpowerVan - a feminist, mobile project bringing empowerment self-defence, safety, and community directly to girls and women seeking asylum.

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  • Gender-based violence is structural in refugee camps in Greece

    01.03.2026 · This Altreconomia article follows EmpowerVan in refugee camps across Greece, showing how gender-based violence is embedded in the camp system—driven by confinement, lack of protection, and limited support for women.

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Governance

EmpowerVan is a registered association in Switzerland. You can find our statutes here (PDF).