Gender based violence and migration in times of Covid-19 : perspectives from across the globe

Abstract

The current health crisis has exposed and deepened existing inequalities; and it is a crisis that is, in many ways, gendered. Many essential (migrant) workers are female. The crisis has also greatly exacerbated women’s vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Unemployment, economic downturn, and restricted mobility in the wake of the current health crisis is likely to result in more human trafficking and more risky migration journeys. This again has gendered implications. Women are disproportionally trafficked, which often exposes them to sexual exploitation. Conditions of receptions and the lack of social support networks and impeded access to public support services in receiving countries can also aggravate the vulnerability of migrant women to SGBV. In this upcoming webinar, we will discuss this issue with academic experts and practitioners. What do we know about sexual and gender-based violence in a migration setting? How has the health crisis affected the exposure of female migrants and refugees to violence? The rich expertise of our speakers from different world regions provides a unique opportunity to discuss this important phenomenon from a truly global perspective.