Lack of data makes migrant women’s deaths invisible – IOM

The lack of data on migrant flows perpetuates the invisibility of migrant women’s deaths, the International Organisation for Migration said recently.

The lack of data on migrant flows perpetuates the invisibility of migrant women’s deaths, the International Organisation for Migration said recently.

A lack of reliable sex-disaggregated data perpetuates the invisibility of female migrant deaths, the International Organisation for Migration has said.

Since it began collecting data through the Missing Migrants Project in 2014, IOM says it has recorded the deaths of 1,234 women, more than half of whom died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

This figure represents less than five percent of the total number of migrant deaths recorded during this period by the project. Only 31 percent of the incidents recorded by Missing Migrants Project have any information on the sex of those who died or went missing.

Lack of information on sex of victims

“Information on the deaths of migrant women is highly contingent on the identification of bodies,” the organization explained. “As many deaths of women occur at sea, and in large numbers, the identities of those who die often remain unknown. Their remains are either not recovered from the water, or information about them is not reported by those who recover the bodies. Other incidents occur in remote locations and mostly go unrecorded.”

“It is critical to seek better information on all those who go missing during migration so that we can understand why these people risked their lives and how these deaths could have been avoided,” said Jill Helke, Director of IOM’s Department of International Cooperation and Partnerships.

Journeys more dangerous for women

Worldwide, the Missing Migrants Project recorded the deaths of 525 women during migration in 2017. Though the scarcity of sex-disaggregated data on migrant deaths means that it is difficult to say which migratory route is most dangerous for women, the available data indicate that crossing the Mediterranean is particularly deadly, with the deaths of 238 women confirmed last year.

The available data show that women are also undertaking dangerous journeys by land. In 2017, 61 women died from exposure to harsh environments during their journeys, 47 due to illness and lack of access to medicines, 28 due to vehicle accidents, and 15 suffered a violent death. For 37 women, the cause of death is unknown.

Evidence also shows that women face greater risks of death while migrating irregularly, IOM said. Many factors contribute to this, including gendered social practices within family groups and within countries of transit as well as various smuggling tactics. Globally, female migrants are also at high risk of sexual abuse on their journeys.

Fonte: Infomigrants – 15/03/2018