Migrant women face invisible forms of violence at the intersection of health, gender and migration. An analysis by ISGlobal and Women in Global Health Spain (WGH Spain).
[Este artículo lo han escrito conjuntamente Julia Pedreira (ISGlobal y WGH Spain), Silvia Gómez (ISGlobal y WGH Spain) y Anne Thompson (ISGlobal).]
No woman should fear for her life as she seeks a more dignified existence. However, thousands of migrant women cross borders in the hope of finding safety and end up facing new forms of violence, quieter but just as devastating.
Violence against women crossing borders
Every November 25 we remember that violence against women continues to be an invisible pandemic in the 21st century. According to UN WomenThis violence and insecurity disproportionately affects women and girls, especially in contexts of migration, conflict or humanitarian crisis.
Beyond the global figures, there are hidden realities that remain outside the media and political focus: those of the migrant women. Their experience is marked by displacements, breakups, loss of support networks, and clashes with systems that were not designed for them. At this point of intersection between gender, migration and health, a double vulnerability: being a woman and a migrant, which entails facing forms of structural violence compared to normalized ones.
Invisible violence, lives in motion
In Europe, 31% of women over 15 years of age have been victim of physical or sexual violence ever in your life. The system often lacks resources and protocols that respond to their needs, leaving many women unprotected. This situation is worse for migrant women, for whom the health system reproduces language, administrative and/or cultural barriers. Institutional violence takes on a face when a woman fears going to a health center due to her immigration status, when protocols do not consider cultural diversity or when support is diluted in bureaucracy.
Migrant women face an especially high risk of gender violence throughout the entire migration process, due to unsafe routes, discrimination, socioeconomic precariousness and barriers to accessing support services.
These violence, silent but constant, add to job insecurity, racial discrimination and social isolation. The lack of family networks and the fear of losing their economic support mean that many women remain in abusive situations, without access to protection mechanisms.
Gender violence: a wound in public health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gender violence constitutes a global public health emergency that affects one in three women throughout his life. In humanitarian contexts, the figure rises: one in five displaced women suffers sexual violence and More than half of migrants arriving in Europe have experienced gender violence, the majority (69%) being women.
Addressing violence against migrant women involves strengthening health systems with a gender and cultural diversity perspective, training professionals to recognize beyond what is visible, and creating safe spaces where silenced voices are heard.
These figures reflect that migrant women face a especially high risk of gender violence throughout the entire migration process, due to unsafe routes, discrimination, socioeconomic precariousness and barriers to access to support services. Discrimination intersectional gender, race, ethnicity or other factors further increase the risks and severity of the violence they suffer.
Injuries, unwanted pregnancies, chronic illnesses, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress are just some of the consequences. If health is a universal right, we cannot continue ignoring that social determinants, violence, migration or gender deeply condition it.
Address violence from intersection and action
Addressing violence against migrant women requires intersectional views and coordinated responses. It means recognizing that not all women start from the same point, nor do they experience the same forms of violence. It involves strengthening health systems with a gender and cultural diversity perspective, training professionals to recognize beyond what is visible, and creating safe spaces where silenced voices are heard.
At WGH we affirm that a fairer and healthier society will only be possible if we make this violence visible and work together to transform it. Make visible, listen and act. Because without health, without equality and without protection for all women, including migrants, there can be no global justice.
In memory and with hope
On this 25N, we raise our voices for those who migrated looking for a better life, for those who resist in silence and for those who are no longer here. May its strength mobilize us to build, starting today, a world free of violence.
The heat of the moment: a poem by anne thompson
We share a poem from our colleague at ISGlobal Ana Thompson. Your current research project. (EARLY ADAPTATION) analyzes the effects of temperature and air pollution on gender violence in Spain. His text invites us to reflect on the visible and invisible wounds of violence, Possible environmental causes that may contribute to this violenceand about the collective strength that is born from sisterhood and care.
