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ISLAMABAD: Women around the world face a heightened risk of violence, exploitation, and discrimination at every stage of migration, from recruitment and transit to work abroad and return to their home countries, according to a report by UN Women on Monday. Crossing borders in search of safety or opportunity can expose women to unsafe recruitment practices, human trafficking, forced labor, and gender-based violence, particularly for those traveling without legal documentation or reliable information.&nbsp; &quot;Violence is omnipresent at all stages of migration &ndash; from journeys and border crossings to life in destination countries, and eventual return,&quot; the UN report states.&nbsp; &quot;Migrant women often suffer violence multiple times by different perpetrators,&quot; the report notes.&nbsp; Trafficking in persons remains one of the most severe human rights violations affecting migrant women and girls. &quot;More than 60 per cent of trafficking victims detected worldwide are women or girls,&quot; many of them exploited in poorly regulated sectors such as &quot;domestic and care work,&quot; UN Women said. Dependence on employers for wages, housing or residency status can further silence women and limit access to justice. Migrant domestic workers are especially vulnerable. Most work inside &quot;private homes often means limited visibility and protection...Many migrant workers are excluded from national labour laws, denied rest days or fair wages, and are deeply dependent on their employers for income, housing, and residency status.&quot; Sponsorship systems that tie visas to employers often prevent women from leaving abusive situations or reporting violations, according to the report. Even after reaching their destination, they face &quot;discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, and migration status&quot; which &quot;shapes every aspect of life.&quot;&nbsp; Fear of detention or deportation discourages many from seeking help, while women in immigration detention face elevated risks of abuse and limited access to health care and complaint mechanisms. &quot;Many women report sexual abuse, poor or no access to sexual and reproductive health care, and a lack of privacy in sanitation and shower areas.&quot; Survivors of exploitation or trafficking may encounter &quot;stigma and exclusion,&quot; making reintegration and recovery more difficult without tailored support. Central role of women Against this backdrop, UN Women stated on Wednesday, ahead of International Migrants Day, observed on Dec. 18, that women play a central role in migration and that their rights must be protected. In its statement, UN Women described migration as &ldquo;a powerful story of resilience, connection and shared progress,&rdquo; noting that this year&rsquo;s theme, &ldquo;My Great Story: Cultures and Development,&rdquo; highlights how human mobility enriches societies and supports sustainable development when grounded in dignity and rights. &ldquo;At the heart of this story are women,&rdquo; the statement said, adding that women&rsquo;s earnings sustain families, their care work supports communities and their leadership helps societies adapt and flourish. UN Women said it is working with governments, civil society and migrant-led organizations worldwide to uphold the rights and dignity of migrant women and girls and ensure their voices shape policies. The organization cited an example from Ethiopia, where a young woman who survived exploitation as a domestic worker abroad rebuilt her life after returning home with support from a UN Women partner, accessing shelter, health care, legal aid and vocational training. &ldquo;Her journey toward justice and recovery shows what&rsquo;s possible when services are survivor-centred and gender-responsive,&rdquo; UN Women said.

Displaced Sudanese women carry their belongings as the walk toward a camp near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 11, 2025 (AFP)

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Women around the world face a heightened risk of violence, exploitation, and discrimination at every stage of migration, from recruitment and transit to work abroad and return to their home countries.

Women face risks at every stage of migration: UN Women report

ISLAMABAD: Nearly half of the world&rsquo;s 304 million international migrants are women, yet many face damaging stereotypes that expose them to violence, discrimination and reduced access to essential services, the UN warned Monday.&nbsp;A new UN Women policy brief, Migrant Women: Narratives and Perceptions, reports that migrant women are frequently depicted as &ldquo;promiscuous,&rdquo; &ldquo;a burden&rdquo; or &ldquo;a threat,&rdquo; shaping how societies and institutions treat them during crises. These narratives, the report noted, are emerging across regions, from Latin America to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.&nbsp;In Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Oxfam surveys from 2019 and 2023 cited in the UN Women brief show that nearly half of respondents believed migrant women would eventually engage in sex work. Venezuelan women are widely accused of &ldquo;stealing husbands,&rdquo; a trope also echoed in T&uuml;rkiye with Russian women and in Poland with Ukrainian women.&nbsp;The report also highlights the deadly consequences of stigma. In Saudi Arabia, 37% of all documented suicides involve Ethiopian migrant domestic workers. According to the brief, &ldquo;narratives about migrant women that are rooted in stigma and discrimination can be potentially life threatening.&rdquo;&nbsp;In Ukraine, where the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group has documented similar trends, only one in eight people enrolled in the national opioid substitution therapy program is a woman. Kateryna Hrytsayenko of the Hope and Trust Foundation said women often conceal drug use due to fear of public shaming. Many avoid reporting domestic violence because Ukrainian law allows children to be removed from parents with addiction.&nbsp;Despite nationwide workforce deficits of about 30%, displaced women and female-headed households in Ukraine continue to face pay gaps, poor job opportunities and greater unpaid care responsibilities, according to labor analysis presented at the same meeting.&nbsp;The UN brief situates these narratives within a broader global political shift. Over the past decade, it stated, &ldquo;the world has seen a dramatic rise in right-wing nationalism that deliberately weaponizes migration,&rdquo; with 2024 elections in more than 60 countries amplifying anti-immigrant rhetoric.&nbsp;To counter this, UN Women urged governments to &ldquo;conduct regular perception studies that include sex-disaggregated data on migration.&rdquo; It also called on media outlets to &ldquo;center migrant women&rsquo;s voices as storytellers, not just subjects,&rdquo; and to avoid framing migration with charged terms such as &ldquo;crisis&rdquo; or &ldquo;invasion.&rdquo;

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From Latin America to Eastern Europe and the Middle East, women caught in migration or war are being portrayed through harmful narratives that shape access to healthcare, employment and safety. 

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Women face risks at every stage of migration: UN Women report

UN warns toxic narratives endangering migrant women worldwide