Human Dignity of Women in Contemporary Society: Issues and Best Practices in Migration and Refugee Services
UN Side Event- Sponsored by the Holy See
Sept 13, 2006

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Women in Global Migration Flows: Issues of concern and Best Practices
Mary DeLorey
Catholic Relief Services
 

I. INTRO
A. I would first like to thank those within the UN system for promoting the necessity of greater dialogue and collaboration on migration and development at the international level- both in general and in the high level dialogue to occur over the next few days. I would also like to thank the Holy See for arranging this side event and creating today’s opportunity for discussion on women and migration.

II. Overview Women and Migration
Women have composed close to half of all migration for nearly 40 years, although there is certainly regional variations on percentages and context of migration by gender, what has changed the most is how and why women are migrating; the conditions in which they migrate, the impact of this migration on women themselves, their families, communities and sending/receiving nations, and the degree of recent attention to these factors. To briefly look at differences in the migration of women:

Push Factors and rationale for migration:
1. As economies are increasingly integrated and investment and employment quickly move from one part of the globe to another, workers generally do not have the (legal) freedom of movement to go o where employment exists. The feminization of poverty is a global reality. Women are particularly hard hit when employment options and social safety nets disappear (under structural adjustment models or transitional economies).
2. Women are increasingly migrating independently in an effort to sustain themselves or their families although migration policy in receiving countries continue to primarily offer ‘dependent’ visa status.
3. Push factors for women can also include restrictions on educational; social; political rights and opportunities in countries of origin; and also domestic violence in contexts where there may be limited legal or societal recourse.

Pull Factors:
1. Greater economic opportunities: but often into gender segregated labor markets- particularly in terms of domestic labor and service or informal sectors; leading to lower income; and increased potential for abuse/isolation. (This does not refer to professional women, but rather more economically vulnerable).
2. Family reunification has long been a motivation for migration and core aspect of many nations’ migration policy (such as the U.S.); but also a significant (but not sufficient) legal option for women to migrate.
4. Positive aspects- increase in social/economic mobility; autonomy; new roles and responsibilities home communities and new locations

Greater risks & Vulnerabilities
1. Restrictive migration policies can have unintended consequences particularly increasing vulnerability women. Irregular migration increases the possibility of abuses and vulnerability to Sexual violence and other forms of exploitation throughout the migration process; including the most egregious issue of trafficking of women for sexual or labor purposes. Stigmatization upon return, after sexual abuse.
2. Migrant women’s legal status may be tied to that of a male citizen or principal migrant; if that relationship changes, she may face deportation, this is particularly a problem in cases of domestic violence.
3. Greater of economic vulnerability; often in gender segregated fields

III CRS starting point
As a representative of International Catholic Relief and Development Agency that works closely with a network of local, national, international partners throughout the world we approach this issue as an agency increasingly concerned about and striving to respond to the very human face of the poverty; of economic polices failing the most vulnerable in our societies; of the growing necessity for migration, and migration under conditions that are increasingly life-threatening and abusive. Migration is not only an economic issue, a development issue; labor issue; a social issue it is a moral issue- in urgent need of vastly improved international policies and practices.

More recently we, and undoubtedly many of you here, are on a steep learning curve to respond to what has rightly been referred to as the dark underbelly of globalization, human trafficking. In no small measure trafficking is a tragic yet almost predictable end result of unaddressed global economic and social disparities slamming up against migration policies that respond less to current realties in either receiving or sending countries, than to political expediency- and national fears.

We take as a starting point that all people have the right to find opportunities in their homeland- to find in their own countries the economic, political, and social opportunities to live in dignity and achieve a basic standard of living. We emphasize the necessity for this concern to be a conceptually and concretely tied to policy discussions and decision making on migration. This is a starting point for us as a Catholic Agency and as a Development Agency but it is also certainly prioritized in the Global Commissions Report on international migration and elsewhere

IV Best Practices

1) Creation of sustainable economic alternatives- where goal is equitable development and migration for women or men is a choice rather than a necessity.
1. Economic policy as with migration policy should not be gender blind, but gender responsive. The incorporation of gender analysis on the potential and actual outcomes of economic policy could be of great value to proactively respond to feminization of poverty- vulnerability to migration/trafficking.
2. Value of greater intentional linkage between meeting the Millennium Development Goals and decreasing forced migration. (Particularly: goals of eradicating extreme poverty; Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment; and the Global Partnership –for development).
3. Local/national level initiatives of civil society to conduct budget monitoring on gender based resource distribution, for subsequent engagement/advocacy with government agencies.

2) As the General Secretary report points out-addressing gender discrimination and expanding opportunities for women and girls in countries of origin- is an essential goal in diminishing the necessity to migrate (as well as contributing to the prevention of exploitation and trafficking in women and girls).

3) Migration policies should incorporate a gender analysis, and increased opportunities for safe, legal orderly migration.
1. Canadian government: utilizes a gender-based analysis approach to migration policy has helped in the mainstreaming of the assessment of gender-specific impacts at every step of policy implementation.

4) Expanding the view- migration and development- Not just about remittances to the rescue. (other diaspora contributions)
2. Italy- linking foreign aid to countries of origin. Italy provides vocational training in Albania to those planning to migrate as well as to Albanian immigrants in Italy before placing them in vacancies in Italy.

5) Adjustments to migration policies and labor law
3. US recognition of need for domestic violence exception; in visas tied to migration sponsorship
4. Need for far greater regulation, protection establishment of labor laws to cover domestic labor work- which disproportionately impacts women migrants. (National Domestic Worker associations)

V. Conclusion:
Economic decision-making that does not take the needs of significant numbers of vulnerable people into account has serious negative consequences for individuals, communities and entire societies, and disproportionately so for those who (including women) already experience discrimination in the exercise of basic rights. Trade negotiations that focus only on the movement of gods and capital and ignore the movement of labor (migration) will ultimately be compelled to address this integral aspect. And migration policies that do not meet the needs of either sending or receiving nations, while creating an environment for widespread abuse of migrants, are not only unsustainable they are unconscionable.