Migrant Women Research Articles

“We were left to our own devices”: Midwives’ experiences of providing maternity care to Ukrainian women in Poland after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine

BackgroundAfter the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, about 2 million people sought protection in Poland. Providing high-quality care for migrants and refugees, especially in times of significant arrivals, can be particularly challenging. AimTo learn about the experiences and strategies of midwives providing maternity care to Ukrainian migrant women in Poland after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine. MethodsFive focus group interviews with 32 midwives providing maternity care in Poland were conducted. The interviews were thematically analysed. ResultsWe identified the barriers experienced by midwives in providing high quality care to migrants to be mainly on the individual and interpersonal levels and levels of management and organization. First, at the individual and interpersonal level, we have identified: fear for life and well-being related to the threat of war in a neighbouring country, depleting resources and post-pandemic fatigue, language barriers, lack of knowledge on caring for women fleeing war. Second, at the management and organizational level we have identified: lack of organizational support, and interpreting services. In the first months after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, most strategies to improve the provision of maternity care for women fleeing the war took the form of grassroots initiatives by the staff of individual care units. ConclusionsThe Polish health care services need systemic solutions prepared jointly by state and local authorities and taking into account the voices of midwives to support the provision of high-quality care to migrant population.

Effect of sexual health education on sexual function and satisfaction of menopausal migrant women: an application of the theory of planned behavior

ObjectivesThis study investigated the effect of an intervention based on the theory of planned behavior on sexual function and satisfaction of migrant women during menopause in Iran.MethodsThis quasi-experimental study was conducted on 88 migrant and menopausal women in Iran. Sampling was performed using the multistage methods in four health care centers. The educational program based on the theory of planned behavior was held in 4 sessions of 90 min for 4 weeks in the intervention group. The final evaluation of the intervention was performed immediately, and the follow-up stage (3 months after the intervention) by completing questionnaires in two groups. The data was analyzed with SPSS 20 software with statistical tests of mean and standard deviation, Manwitney, Frideman, Generalized Estimating Equations.ResultsThe results showed that after the intervention, the mean score of sexual function in the intervention group increased from 16.53 ± 2.68 before to 17.52 ± 2.90 immediately and 17.38 ± 2.81 in follow up stage (p < 0.05). But in the control group, this score was not statistically significant during the study stages (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe results indicate that the intervention based on the theory of planned behavior is effective in sexual function and satisfaction with the married life of migrant women during menopause. but to change the sexual function, studies with a longer duration and also the use of other educational models are suggested.

Illegal Sri Lankan Female Migrant Domestic Workers in Gulf Countries: An Analysis on Push and Pull Factors

The implementation of new restrictions by the Government of Sri Lanka to discourage unskilled female labour migration through the mandatory ‘Family Background Report’ has resulted in an increase in the number of female illegal migrations. This study efforts to uncover the reasons that motivate women to migrate as domestic workers disregarding the government’s strong discouragement. I argue that gendered push factors coupled with financial motivations trigger illegal and circular migration among women. This explorative research utilizes primary data collected through structured interviews from a sample of sixty-five migrant women which is complemented by secondary data collected from statistics and reports published by the Government of Sri Lanka. The research concludes that government’s inability to address strong push factors that motivates unskilled female labour migration, and its effort to use blanket solutions such as restricting movements through laws have forced women to migrate using illegal measures which makes their situation more vulnerable. It also suggests that affirmative action such as to create more occupational opportunities and the equal distribution of resources to rural areas to address this issue is needed.

Perinatal mortality among pregnant undocumented migrants in Norway 1999–2020: A register-based population study

BackgroundIrregular legal status is a recognized health risk factor in the context of migration. However, undocumented migrants are rarely included in health surveys and register studies. Adverse perinatal outcomes are especially important because they have long-term consequences and societal risk factors are modifiable. In this study, we compare perinatal outcomes in undocumented migrants to foreign-born and Norwegian-born residents, using a population-based register. MethodsWe included women 18–49 years old giving birth to singletons as registered in the Medical Birth Registry of Norway from 1999 to 2020. Women were categorized as ‘undocumented migrants’ (without an identity number), ‘documented migrants’ (with an identity number and born abroad), and ‘non-migrants’ (with an identity number and born in Norway). The main outcome was perinatal mortality, i.e., death of a foetus ≥ gestational week 22, or neonate up to seven days after birth. We used log-binominal regression to estimate the association between legal status and perinatal mortality, adjusting for several maternal pre-gestational and gestational factors. Direct standardization was used to adjust for maternal region of origin. Ethical approvalRegional Ethical Committee (REK South East, case number 68329). ResultsWe retrieved information on 5856 undocumented migrant women who gave birth during the study period representing 0.5% of the 1 247 537 births in Norway. Undocumented migrants had a relative risk of 6.17 (95% confidence interval 5.29 ̶7.20) of perinatal mortality compared to non-migrants and a relative risk of 4.17 (95% confidence interval 3.51 ̶4.93) compared to documented migrants. Adjusting for maternal region of origin attenuated the results slightly. ConclusionBeing undocumented is strongly associated with perinatal mortality in the offspring. Disparities were not explained by maternal origin or maternal health factors, indicating that social determinants of health through delays in receiving adequate care and factors negatively influencing gestational length may be of importance.

Intersectional solidarity, empathy, or pity? Exploring representations of migrant women in German and British newspapers during the pandemic

ABSTRACT This research examines migrant women’s representation in British and German news during the COVID-19 pandemic, paying particular attention to expressions of solidarity. While previous research has focused on the representation of women and migrants, studies have largely treated these groups as distinct entities. Combining topic modelling with informed grounded theory, this research compares the representation of migrant women, including women from ethnic minorities, across a diverse corpus covering 2020–21. This two-step methodology facilitates intersectional analysis at the macro and micro level, revealing the salience, topical concentration and context of migrant women’s coverage. Findings show that solidarity emerged through the platforming of migrant women’s voices, and connected to discourses of class, poverty and precarity. Representations containing empathy and pity – less likely drivers of social change – were more prevalent. This research contributes to our understanding of migrant women’s coverage during the pandemic and provides a granular and intersectional lens for analysing minoritized group representation.

Gendered Migration in India: Exploring the Challenges and Human Rights Issues Faced by Female Migrant Workers in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam District, Kerala

Most studies on inter-state migrant workers in Kerala focus on male migrants arriving in the state. Kerala began to receive migrant workers in 1950. There has been a significant shift in it since 1990. From the 1960s to the 1990s, migrant workers came to Kerala from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. During those times, women came to Kerala along with men. After the 1990s, migration from Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, and Haryana gained momentum. Many women have moved to Kerala since 2000, as opposed to male migrants from 1990 to 2000. Many human rights issues face migrant women in Kerala, including their workplaces, lifestyles, job searches, and travel. The consequences of not getting significant health interventions and being harassed at work are not well known in society. A study of migrant women begins in the public space, where they are not considered citizens but as objects of utility. My research revealed 516,000 migrant women in Kerala, based on a government document obtained through RTI. There are 25000 female migrant workers among them. It is estimated that around 34 lakh migrant workers work in Kerala, according to the Kerala Planning Board's 2021 report. Out of that, 20% of women work in many workplaces and enterprises in Kerala. According to surveys and a government assessment, Kerala's Ernakulam district has the highest concentration of migrant women workers. The female migrant workers in the Perumbavoor one of the cities of the Ernakulam district are the subject of this study. Female workers who work in plywood, bricks, baji, tailoring, pan shops, plastic manufacturing, textile manufacturing, and other industrial units are the subject of this study. Female migrant workers are personally met and interviewed during fieldwork to obtain data. For this study, qualitative ethnographic research methodology is employed. The findings of this study suggest the government's policy-making for social welfare, social security, job security, the prevention of sexual violence, and making sure that female migrants in Kerala receive equal pay for equal work. This study is being conducted with the human rights of women migrant workers in Kerala foremost in mind. Information is being directly collected from migrant women workers, labour department health department government representatives, trade union members, NGO representatives, etc.

Exhaustion: Migrant mental health, gendered migration and workplace regime

AbstractThis article focuses on the mental health of female migrant workers in Italy. The multi‐method study involved a survey of 157 Moldovan migrant women employed in different jobs and 30 semi‐structured interviews with Moldovan female migrant domestic workers. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that Moldovan domestic workers are affected by poor mental health to a greater extent than Moldovan women employed in other jobs, and that the factors most associated with it were non‐standard working times and having migrated primarily for work reasons. Qualitative data showed how the strain resulting from demanding schedules was intertwined with being a single female labour migrant, whose experience was strongly marked by the gendered dimension of transnational motherhood and a loss of social status. The article concludes that the gendered migration regime and the gendered workplace regime constitute two intertwined and mutually reinforcing determinants of health.

Translanguaging art – Questioning boundaries in Monika Szydłowska’s Do you miss your country?

Abstract Using the concept of translanguaging art that combines language(s) with other means of artistic expression, I discuss an artist’s book published in 2015 by Monika Szydłowska, who is a Polish-born visual artist living in the UK. Szydłowska’s book Do you miss your country? is a visual diary in which, using media traditionally associated with a travel journal (pencil and watercolours), the artist captures her experience of migration. The book depicts the everyday life of a young migrant woman from Poland, in the first years of her life in Scotland. The visual and textual narrative pinpoints the intricacies of the process of othering and identity building. I consider what the translanguaging art reveals about the process of identity creation in linguistically and culturally diverse communities and show how, through her choice of multi(trans)lingualism as a mode of writing and the form of a pocket-size sketchbook filled with watercolour drawings and speech bubbles, Szydłowska problematises the popular image of the migrant. I also discuss her engagement with the tradition of migrant writing and travel writing and her subtle subverting of these genres. I demonstrate how, by combining languages with visual means of expression choosing the form of a comic and the watercolour – a gendered and nationally loaded medium – she negotiates her identity and destabilises power relations historically operating within the migratory discourse. My conclusion suggests that her use of translanguaging enabled the artist to indicate the transformative and emancipatory potential of migration seen as the empowering rather than disempowering process for migrants and locals alike.

Memorializing Women on the Move: A register of migrant women landmarks in Europe.

This dataset was developed by COST Action 19112 Women on the Move (WEMov), which engages in unveiling women migrants' presence and participation in the construction of Europe. The dataset was built as a register of toponyms and monuments in the political and public landscape in Europe - such as street names, school names and parks, as well as statues and memorials - that celebrate women migrants. With the dataset we want to discover how women migrants are remembered and what kind of landmarks present these individuals who have had an episode of migration for a variety of reasons. Moreover, our aim is to make these landmarks and the stories of women migrants visible by presenting the results of the dataset in an interactive map on our website. At the moment, the dataset includes 1000 landmarks. The collection of data was based on voluntary work of scholars and students from over 40 different European countries. We have aimed for broad geographical coverage; however, some areas are better represented than others due the nature of data collection. The collection of data is an ongoing process and therefore the dataset in Nakala repository, to which this data note refers, presents the situation in July 2023. Updated versions of the dataset will be made available in Nakala and we will download new landmarks to our interactive map on a regular basis. The selected landmarks and migrant trajectories feature cross-community or cross-cultural migration. They show both typical and exceptional forms of mobility and present women of different age, profession, social status and migration status. This intersectionality of the project and the dataset highlights not only the richness of these landmarks and their value for scholarship but also the wide spectrum of migrant women and their contribution to society.

(Im)migrant women’s translingual literacy practices as problem-solving and learning resources: perspectives from a community-based English literacy program

ABSTRACT This paper calls for an expansion of translingual studies to include the examination of learners beyond university contexts to further our understanding of translingual literacies and practices. The authors present findings from a larger ethnographic study about practices and repertoires that (im)migrant women mobilize and employ when learning how to write in a community-based English literacy program. The study provides insights into the intersections of their identities as mothers and professionals and their literacy learning. Findings show how these women drew on diverse modalities and literacies to navigate new conventions for writing and challenges they face as (im)migrants in the United States, illustrating how their practices are linked to their professional and gendered identities. The findings illustrate the need to expand translingual studies to further theorize multilingual lives, language learning, and literacy practices cultivated in non-traditional education programs.

Minoritized mother politicians in Ireland: Subjectivities and subjectivation in the political workplace

AbstractMinoritized mother politicians that include ethnic racialized minority Traveller (an Irish indigenous community), racialized ethnic minority women, and migrant women face considerable disadvantages as workers arising from the intersection of their maternal status, gender, racialized or migrant and class position. The experiences of minoritized mother candidates and politicians in Ireland are viewed through the lens of subjectivities providing insight into how these mother‐workers mediate identities and status positions that place them outside of, or in tension with, a predominantly white masculinist workplace. Empirical data analysis reveals how minoritized mother candidates and politicians respond in strategic ways to forces of subjectivation that may risk affirming idealized motherhood, while obscuring gendered and racialized inequalities in the political workplace. Paradoxically, motherhood seeds political ambition while acting as a material, temporal, and affective constraint, a source of invisible labor and violence in gendered and racialized ways. However, minoritized mothers' presence and representations also offer an important challenge to this white masculinist workplace.

Healthcare access, quality and financial risk protection among displaced Venezuelan women living in Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Millions of Venezuelans have been displaced because of deteriorating socio-economic conditions in their country. We examine key domains of universal health coverage among migrant Venezuelan women in Brazil: healthcare access, care quality and financial risk protection. We collected primary data on 2012 Venezuelan women aged 15-49 who migrated to Brazil between 2018 and 2021, in the cities of Boa Vista and Manaus, along with secondary data for Brazilian women. We used linear regression with entropy balance matching to estimate associations between migrant status and healthcare spending, utilisation and quality indicators. Our sample had a mean age of 29.5 years (S.D. 8.9), 64% (1286/2011) of mixed ethnicity, 29% (577/2011) white, 4% (71/2011) black, 3% (62/2011) indigenous and 1% (15/2011) other ethnicities. Compared to Brazilian women, migrant women had 9.5 percentage points (pp) (95% CI: 6 pp-13 pp; p<0.0001) higher catastrophic health expenditure incidence. Migrants were 27 pp (95% CI: 11 pp-43 pp; p=0.0008) more likely to receive healthcare when sought, but 37 pp (95% CI:-45 pp to-29 pp; p<0.0001) less likely to have had a pap smear in the last three years. Migrants were as likely as non-migrants to have received pap smear results within three months (95% CI:-9 pp to 22pp; p=0.39) and clinically appropriate antenatal consultations (95% CI:-10 pp to 40 pp; p=0.23). Migrant women in Brazil have relatively good healthcare access and quality outcomes. Yet a potential backlog of unmet sexual and reproductive healthcare needs and inadequate financial risk protection require policy attention. UK Economic and Social Research Council (ES/T00441X/1).

Integrating evidence and causal mapping of help-seeking behaviour of migrant women with postpartum depression in Shanghai, China: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionThe estimated prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) worldwide, in China, and Shanghai is 17.2%, 18.0% and 23.2%, respectively. In 2021, Shanghai housed a population of 3.2 million childbearing-age migrant women,...

Parenting experiences of marriage immigrant women in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive phenomenological study.

This study aimed to investigate the experiential meaning of child-rearing for marriage immigrant women in Korea in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Using the hermeneutic descriptive phenomenology framework developed by Colaizzi, 10 marriage immigrant women rearing preschool and school-age children were invited through purposive and snowball sampling from two multicultural support centers in Korea. The participants were rearing one or two children, and their original nationalities were Vietnamese, Japanese, Cambodian, and Chinese. Individual in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted from September 1 to November 30, 2021. We extracted significant statements from the transcripts, transformed these into abstract formulations, and organized them into theme clusters and themes to authentically capture the essence of the participants' subjective experiences. Four theme clusters with 14 themes were derived. The four theme clusters identified were "navigating child healthcare alone," "guilt for not providing a social experience," "worry about media-dependent parenting," and "feelings of incompleteness and exclusion." This study explored the perspectives of mothers raising children as marriage migrant women who experienced physical and emotional health crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings underscore that marriage immigrant women encountered heightened challenges in managing their children's health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic due to linguistic and cultural barriers limiting access to healthcare and information. Additionally, these women experienced considerable emotional stress from perceived inadequacies in providing a holistic social and developmental environment for their children under extensive social restrictions.

Exploring the Concept of Social Reconciliation Through the Experience of a Dance/Movement Therapy Group of Migrant Women in Spain

This paper explores the potential of Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) as a means of contributing to social reconciliation processes. The study, conducted through a group process with migrant women living in Spain, suggests that the relationships developed between participants in the DMT group reflect some of the key elements underpinning theories of social reconciliation. The elements of trust, empathy, and a willingness to coexist with others can be understood as the return to a sense of community and belonging. Furthermore, working with migrant women appeared as an opportunity to explore the concept of social reconciliation beyond national borders as an initial step to understanding this phenomenon through DMT. In summary, it is proposed that Dance Movement Therapy, oriented towards the configuration of new forms of relationship, has the potential to contribute to the modification of polarization frameworks in group and community relationships, particularly in areas affected by conflict or social marginalization experienced by migrants and refugees.

Access to Contraceptives among Venezuelan Migrant Women Residing in Peru: Analysis on a Population-Based Survey.

Introduction: The emigration of Venezuelans has seen a significant increase in recent years. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with access to contraceptives in migrant women from Venezuela residing in Peru. Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Second Survey of the Venezuelan Population Residing in Peru. Access to contraceptives (yes/no) was established as the dependent variable. A Poisson regression model was performed for complex samples, and crude (PRc) and adjusted (PRa) prevalence ratios were reported. Results: A total of 3617 migrant women were analyzed, with 50.12% reporting access to contraceptives. Factors associated with greater access to contraceptives included being between 20 to 29 years old, having a university education, the entry period after the declaration of COVID-19 quarantine was associated with lower access to contraceptives. Conclusions: Access to contraceptives for Venezuelan migrants should be provided to all, as it is a free service in Peru. Additionally, education and family planning should be provided from the basic or middle school level to prevent unintended pregnancies in the future. Complete coverage should be provided regardless of the time of entry into Peru.

Anthropology and ethnobotany in health mediation: an illustration of a clinical, personalized approach for Haitian migrants in a French Guianese hospital.

In French Guiana, a European territory in Guiana shield in the Amazon area, close to 40% of the current population was born abroad. In this context, it is important to listen to the experiences of migrants to better understand the difficulties encountered within the healthcare pathways. This is the aim of ANRS Parcours d'Haïti project, an epidemiological, biographical and socio-anthropological study conducted on a representative sample of the Haitian community in French Guiana and focusing on the social determinants of health. Within the framework of this study, the Infectious and Tropical Diseases clinical team of Cayenne Hospital has established close collaboration with health mediators and the ethnobotanist anthropologist of the study. To illustrate the contribution of a personalized approach to health mediation, we report the case of a migrant woman of Haitian origin admitted to the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit. We highlight the different socio-cultural aspects addressed and their place in the care process through a thematic discussion and socio-anthropological analysis of the care relationship, based on participatory ethnography and inductive analysis of an in-depth interview with the patient. This example illustrates the need for a multidisciplinary approach to ensure culturally adapted care for patients. Personal interviews are important because they allow to better take into account the cultural specificities of patients' experiences and the socio-cultural environment in which they live (and especially, in the case of Haitian patients, their religious affiliation). By allowing them to speak and express themselves freely, they integrate not only their own cultural baggage, but also their own expectations and representations of the disease they suffer from and how it should be treated. Ultimately, this tripartite collaboration between patient, caregiver, and anthropologist or health mediator leads to a better therapeutic alliance. The analysis of this health care relationship is emblematic of the issue of cultural competence and pre-conceptualizes what intercultural mediation in health care could be, as close as possible to the caregiver and the individual.

Traumas, migration et art cru: Une trajectoire thérapeutique appuyée sur l'expression créative intensive

This article studies the therapeutic journey of a migrant woman who fled to France from an Eastern European country in order to escape from her country following the serious violence she suffered over the last 15 years. This case study is part of an inpatient stay in an innovative crisis unit based on the "Art Cru" setting, which is a therapeutic mediation method using art inspired by psychoanalytical and humanist currents. This setting seeks to deploy the processes of symbolisation from the sensory traces and primary forms of symbolisation. Through this study, we question the relevance of certain therapeutic mediations employing creative expression in an intense and regular way with patients for whom verbal communication can be an obstacle to the therapeutic process.

Sub-Saharan Irregular Migrant Women's Sexuality: A Qualitative Study in Humanitarian Reception Centers.

Irregular female migration to Europe is a growing phenomenon, as more and more women are fleeing their countries of origin due to gender inequality and violence. During the migration process, women experience physical, psychological and social problems that affect their sex lives. The aim of our study is to describe and understand how irregular migrant women living in humanitarian reception centers experience their sexuality at different stages of the migration process. This qualitative phenomenological study collected data through sixteen in-depth interviews with irregular migrant women between January and February 2023. Data analysis was carried out using ATLAS-ti 23.0 software, from which three themes were extracted: (1) The reality of sub-Saharan women's sexuality, (2) In search of a better life: the choice between taking the risk or surrendering, and (3) The sexual revolution among migrants. Sub-Saharan women's sexuality is subject to a complex normative order. The migratory process has severe consequences on migrant women's sex life. The sexual needs of irregular migrant women admitted to humanitarian reception centers undergo a process of change that must be understood by healthcare providers in order to make improvements to care provision.

Empowering migrant women's entrepreneurship: stakeholder perspectives from the entrepreneurial ecosystem

PurposeEntrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) research has focused on high-growth scale-up entrepreneurship, whereas the role of EEs in nurturing the ventures of marginalised groups like migrant women entrepreneurs (MWEs) has often been elided from extant discussions. This research explores how the EE's structure, policies and programmes advance diversity, equity and inclusion to foster MWEs, and MWEs' contribution to the dynamics and sustainability of the host country's EE based on EE actors' perspectives. We contribute to EEs' diversity, equity and inclusion, which are important but neglected social aspects of sustainable EEs.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative data was collected through thematic interviews with EE actors, including NGOs and entrepreneurial support-providing organizations based in Finland. The collected data was complemented by interviews with MWEs, archival data and published supplementary materials on ecosystem actors.FindingsEE structure, policies, programmes and individual agency, coupled with MWEs' proactivity in lobbying the necessary actors in the required places for their interests, enhance their businesses' development. There were both impeding and fostering dynamics, which may have idiographic and contextual features. Evidently, by being occupied in various sectors, from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to socially beneficial niche service sectors, MWEs contribute to the host country's EE dynamics not only through their productive entrepreneurship but by enriching the ecosystem's resource endowments and institutional arrangements.Originality/valueWe argue that exploring the gender and inclusivity aspects of EEs as the accommodating context is particularly relevant, given that the United Nation's sustainable development goals 5, 8 and 10 aim to improve women's empowerment at all levels, promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and ensuring equal opportunities and reduced inequalities within the population. Inclusion and embeddedness in EEs positively affect diversity and sustainability in the host country. Theoretically, our contribution is twofold. First, by exploring female migrants' entrepreneurial experiences within the EE based on EE actors' perspectives, we broaden the research on inclusivity in EEs and gender aspects and enrich the research on their societal impact, which has received scant attention from scholars. More specifically, we contribute to EE research with (1) a novel understanding of MWEs and EE elements, their interconnections and dynamism, (2) identifying previously ignored elements shaping MWE and (3) providing EE actor insights into the co-creation of EE for MWE. Second, by analysing the impact of MWEs' businesses on the host country's EE, we contribute to calls for research on MWE contributions to its economic environment.