Gender, CSA, and Migrant Vulnerabilities

Gender and Migration: Implications for Child Sexual Abuse

A person’s sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation shape every stage of their migration experience. Gender ideologies (beliefs about femininity and masculinity) infuence decisions on migrating. Decisions on who migrates, destination countries, how persons migrate, the networks they use, opportunities and resources available at destinations, and relations maintained with the country of origin are all infuenced by gender norms, identities and gendered relations of power. How persons experience and mitigate risks in the migration process is similar, shaped in large part, by one’s sex and gender, with females and males experiencing different vulnerabilities and needs. The roles, expectations, relationships and power dynamics associated with being a female or male, and whether one identifes as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and/or asexual or allied (LGBTQIA+), signifcantly affect all aspects of the migration process, and can also be affected in new ways by migration (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2020).

In all societies, unequal gender relations and power dynamics between males and females are the root cause of GBV. CSA is a form of GBV perpetrated against children because of unequal power relations and expectations or beliefs about girls’ and boys’ bodies and sexuality. Gender relations have implications for vulnerability to violence, including CSA, childhood incest, economic dependency, silencing, bodily harm, public shame, fear and lack of access to help and support (IGDS 2017, 12).

Child sexual abuse differs from the abuse of adults in many ways; one critical difference is the fact that disclosure of incidents of child sexual abuse tends to take place over a protracted period rather than a single episode (World Health Organization [WHO], 2003, 75). This disclosure process adds to the likelihood of CSA being overlooked by adults and other individuals who are in constant contact with the victim. Additionally, the social, political and economic factors contributing to the prevalence of CSA are in no way simple to unpack. These factors interface with elements of history, gender, geography, sex, race, sexual norms and behaviours to determine how communities interface with, seek to hide or remedy CSA.