Original Language
English
Number of Pages
146 pages
Reference Number
11055
Date of upload

02 oct 2015

Female Migrants: Bridging the Gaps Throughout the Life Cycle

This publication is a compilation of technical papers from independent experts who participated in the two-day expert group meeting entitled “Female Migrants – Bridging the gaps throughout the life cycle,” in May, 2006 in New York. Jointly organized by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and IOM, this meeting brought together more than 50 participants including representatives and experts from sending, receiving and transit countries from all five continents, as well as representatives from international agencies, NGOs and diaspora organizations. The workshop was organized as a contribution to the discussions leading up to the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development at the General Assembly in September 2006.

Over the past 40 years, there has been a steady increase of female migrants. Women now constitute more than half of the migrant population worldwide. But there is still a need for documenting and collecting data related to female migrants’ experiences from a life cycle perspective, from the time they decide to leave to the time they might return to their country of origin. This workshop specifically focused on identifying the gaps and challenges throughout the life cycle of female migrants; looking at migration trends, the reproductive health needs of migrant women, migration and human rights, violence against women migrants and human trafficking of women and girls, filling research gaps relating to migration and sex-disaggregated data, and government policies that can play a positive role in the empowerment of women migrants by promoting gender responsive policies, legislation and programmes.

The publication includes all technical reports submitted by the independent experts, along with a summary and conclusions of the two-day meeting, and a list of participants.

  •  Foreword
  •  Summary of the UNFPA-IOM Expert Group Meeting on Female Migrants
  •  Introduction to Female Migration Dynamics
  •  What is the Situation of Women before They Migrate?
  •  What happens to the Sending Countries in the Absence of Women Migrants?
  •  What Happens to Female Migrants in Their Countries of Destination?
  •  What are the Risks Faced by Female Migrants?
  •  What Happens When Female Migrants Return to Their Countries of Origin?
  •  Good Practices in Addressing the Needs of Female Migrants
  •  List of Participants