This paper focuses on migrant women's strategic intimacies in cross-border marriages in light of Türkiye's new migration and citizenship regulations since the early 2000s. Based on in-depth ...interviews with 18 Kyrgyz women in 2021 and 2022, this paper offers different typologies of marriage related migration in order to gain a deeper understanding of marriage migration and migrant women's positions in these intimacies. It can be argued that cross-border marriages in Türkiye are shaped by different factors, including the state's restrictions to access permits, stigmatisation of migrant women and local men's desire for sexual relationships on the one hand, women's desire for an upward social mobility and for emotional connection as well as social protection on the other. It is argued that women strategically bargain through their cultural capital such as education, professional skills, age, experience and hardworking in order to realise an upward social mobility. Regardless of their marriage status, women use their cultural capital to bargain with patriarchy and to resist a set of concrete constrains in a “passive form” as they embrace traditional gender roles.
In recent years the public discourses on Polish migration in the UK have rapidly turned hostile, especially in the context of economic crisis in 2008, and subsequently after the EU referendum in ...2016. While initially Poles have been perceived as a 'desirable' migrant group and labelled as 'invisible' due to their whiteness, this perception shifted to the representation of these migrants as taking jobs from British workers, putting a strain on public services and welfare. While racist and xenophobic violence has been particularly noted following the Brexit vote, Polish migrants experienced various forms of racist abuse before that. This paper draws on narrative interviews with Polish migrant women illustrating their experiences of racism and xenophobia in Greater Manchester before and after the Brexit vote, and how they make sense of anti-Polish discourses and attitudes. This paper illustrates the importance of the interplay between the media and political discourses, class, race and the local context in shaping relations between Polish migrants and the local population.
Abstract Cervical cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE; HPV informatics, 2023) and the fourteenth most common in Australia (Cancer Council 2023). Despite the ...introduction of vaccinations and cervical screening programs in both countries, Emirati and non-Emirati women living in Ras Al Khaimah and migrant women living in Sydney still face significant health disparities when accessing cervical cancer screening services. Currently, there is a lack of literature examining the obstacles to and facilitators of cervical screening among these groups of women. This study aimed to better understand the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer and factors that hinder or promote access to cervical screening among these groups, which is crucial if healthcare professionals and policymakers are to deliver culturally sensitive services. This study was conducted in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and Sydney. The results identified several barriers to cervical cancer screening participation, including lack of knowledge, emotional, cultural, religious and psychological barriers, and organizational factors. The findings have implications for policies to address these barriers and encourage women to participate in health awareness initiatives and screening services.
Irregular 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.
We 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.
Regional Ethical Committee (REK South East, case number 68329).
We 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.
Being 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.
•Undocumented migrants had six times the risk of perinatal mortality to non-migrants.•Undocumented migrants had four times the risk compared to documented migrants.•Disparities were not explained by maternal origin or maternal health factors.•Gestational length could only partially explain the excess perinatal mortality risk.•Delays in receiving adequate care may have a role explaining the disparities.
While understanding the diversity of women's lived experiences is a key focus area in the international feminist literature on family violence, research with migrant women in Australia remains ...limited. This article seeks to contribute to the growing body of intersectional feminist scholarship that examines how immigration or “migration status” impacts the dynamics of migrant women's experiences of family violence. The article examines precarity in relation to migrant women's lives in Australia and focuses on the ways that their specific circumstances contribute to and are compounded by the experience of family violence. It also considers how precarity functions as a structural condition that has implications in terms of various forms or patterns of inequality that can heighten women's vulnerability to violence and undermine their efforts to ensure their safety and survival.
Migrants and women were among the groups most adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic global disaster. Through an intersectional lens that considers both migrant and female identities, it can be ...inferred that migrant women were particularly vulnerable to the pandemic. This study aims to investigate the impact of the pandemic on migrant women living in Milan (North-West Italy), by leveraging on the accounts of a pool of key informants (KIs). We performed an in-depth retrospective qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of KIs working in third sector organizations and public hospitals. After conducting an extensive mapping of organizations with experience working with migrants providing health, social, and/or administrative services during the pandemic, 28 KIs working in seven organizations were recruited. Interviews were transcribed and inductively analyzed. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing vulnerability factors affecting migrant women by triggering several cascading effects. The shutdown of services further marginalized them and hindered their regularization and empowerment path. Migrant women's financial situation was significantly impacted, as in most instances they had informal and gendered jobs. Caregivers and sex workers were the sub-groups most adversely affected by the pandemic. Episodes of gender-based violence appeared to rise, while requests for assistance declined. Accessing the vaccination campaign posed challenges for many migrant women, who at times tended to be skeptical about it. Third sector organizations, despite being confronted with several challenges, proved to be resilient during the pandemic and managed to find alternative methods to support migrant women, often filling institutional gaps.
•Caregivers and sex workers were among the hardest hit during the pandemic in Milan.•Many migrant women faced issues accessing vaccination or were skeptical about it.•Gender-based violence rose while support requests declined during COVID-19.•The closure of administrative, health and social services marginalized migrant women.•Third sector organizations were resilient during COVID-19, filling institutional gaps.
Abstract In the recent years, Australia has been seeking highly skilled migrants to close the skill gap and increase economic participation in the labour market. Although women are predominant among ...recent migrants in Australia, they experience higher unemployment rates than male migrants. Previous research has shown that one key challenge they face is their family responsibilities that hinder them in the employment market. In this study, factors in gaining Australian employment for highly skilled migrant women are highlighted. Drawing on 27 semi-structured qualitative interviews with such women, the analysis identified three main factors in gaining employment in Australia: (1) leveraging social capital; (2) accumulation of human capital; and (3) prior, home-country work experience. These factors are not mutually exclusive but interplay to assist highly skilled migrant women in obtaining employment in Australia. These findings have contributed to the migrant employment literature in filling an empirical gap and supporting human capital theory, as well as presenting micro, meso, and macro implications for policy.