Women are leading migration trends in Latin America.

According to a recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), an increasing number of Latin American women are migrating in search of employment opportunities, and this trend is on the rise.

Migrant women in Latin America tend to travel alone and not in family groups. (Source: AFP)

According to the ILO report, women migrants currently account for 40% of all migrants in Latin America, and this percentage continues to rise.

Ana Virginia Moreira, ILO Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, stated: "This demonstrates the feminization of migration."

Ms. Moreira pointed out that these migrant women tend to travel alone and not in family groups. This requires authorities to have "different responses" specifically for migrant women.

Francesco Carella, the ILO's regional migration expert, noted that migrant women are doubly vulnerable as both women and migrants. Carella explained that during migration, women are often victims of violence and harassment, and upon arrival, they are also vulnerable to hypersexualization.

Furthermore, women often face an "overload of responsibility" for unpaid housework and caregiving when migrating with their families. The lack of job opportunities means that each migrant family often prioritizes legalizing the male's migrant status in the destination country, leaving women in an informal situation.

Mr. Carella stated, "Migration reinforces the traditional gender division of labor." The ILO expert cited the example of Venezuelan migrant women, who make up over 50% of the more than 6.5 million who have left the country. These women often have higher professional qualifications than men but fewer job opportunities in their destination countries. This often leads to women taking substandard jobs.

In this regard, Ms. Moreira also emphasized that a migrant is three times more likely to become a victim of forced labor than a non-migrant.

According to the ILO, illicit profits from forced labor of migrants worldwide amount to $37 billion, of which $27.2 billion comes from commercial sexual exploitation, primarily targeting women and girls.

A recent report, published by Doctors Without Borders (DWB), warns that during the migration of people through the Darién forest, which separates Colombia and Panama and saw more than half a million people pass through in 2023, sexual assaults against migrants have increased.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phu-nu-dan-dau-xu-huong-di-cu-o-my-latinh-273026.html