WUNRN
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON
THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS, TO THE UN 2014 - Women Migrants
UN SR Migrants Website:
Direct Link to Full 21-Page 2014 SR
Report:
3. Migrant women
53. Migrant women risk being the victims of multiple discrimination, both as women and as migrants. Migrant women tend to be employed in the shadow economy and in less skilled work than men, even though some are better qualified. They are generally more dependent on their employers, which puts them at greater risk of abuse and exploitation. Some countries set a minimum age for women to migrate, or ban low-skilled women from migrating, inter alia for domestic work. While this may be done with the intention of protecting women from abuse, this practice is not only discriminatory, it often leads women to resort to irregular migration, rendering them more vulnerable to abuse, which includes precarious working conditions, low pay and exposure to violence and forced labour. The Special Rapporteur has received information concerning requirements in some countries that women must obtain consent from their husband or legal guardian to migrate, and that they must indicate who will take care of their children while they are abroad. Such requirements do not seem to be in place for men.
54. Migrant women also face discrimination due to pregnancy. Some countries subject women migrants to mandatory testing, and women who are pregnant risk losing their residence and work permits. The Special Rapporteur has received allegations concerning proposed regulations to deport pregnant migrant workers, which may in turn compel these women to seek unsafe abortions as their only option to stay employed, exposing them to serious health risks, including risk of death. Migrant women are also at risk of gender-based violence, particularly those who work as domestic workers. The Special Rapporteur has met with several women domestic workers who were victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Those who become pregnant as a result of rape seek to have unsafe abortions or abandon their babies in order to avoid being stigmatized upon their return to their home countries, where they may already have a husband and children. Migrant women who are sponsored by their husband, and whose residence status depends on him, are vulnerable to domestic violence. During one of his visits, the Special Rapporteur met with a migrant woman who ran away from an abusive husband, and he then proceeded to cancel her residence permit. Some women who migrate to work as domestic workers are deceived by their recruiters and end up in forced prostitution, amounting to trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
