What are the experiences of women and girls when undertaking irregular migration, particularly around small boat crossings of the English Channel but also during longer crossings? Terrible conditions exist in northern France where thousands of migrants hoping to cross the Channel live without proper shelter; with inadequate, or indeed non-existent, state protection, with conditions worse than in many refugee camps in the developing world. There is a growing body of undocumented migrants across the world. The unregulated conditions in which they live mean they may be subject to various abuses and are largely unprotected by human rights frameworks. In France, given the fear of being sanctioned or punished by the authorities – or returned to the first country where they entered the E.U. - many irregular migrants prefer to remain inconspicuous and only seek help from governments as a last resort. Undocumented female migrants face harsh additional realities. Sexual violence and transactional sex are widespread. Women can face grave difficulties obtaining adequate healthcare, especially for sexual and reproductive health issues, as well as basic sanitation – for example being able to use the bathroom without risk or to manage menstruation with dignity. The UK Kent Public Health Observatory found asylum seekers were three times more likely to die in childbirth than the general population of the UK. The UN agency U.N.O.D.C. identified a number of issues affecting women in small boat trips, for example increased risks to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Often women are ‘placed in the middle of the rubber boat, where they are thought to be more protected as they are as far as possible from the water. However, it is in the middle of the boat that seawater and fuel mix up, creating a toxic substance that burns people’s skin and often causes them severe injuries. There they are also more at risk of being stepped on and suffocated when the boat is in distress.’ A separate report from the Chief Inspector of UK Borders and Immigration found that ‘fuel burns … were the most common injury of migrants arriving in small boats.’ U.N.O.D.C. also notes that in situations of panic, more than once women have emerged as the best point of contact, as they managed to stay calm, listen carefully to understand how to find the GPS coordinates on the phone and speak clearly to provide precious information.’ U.N.O.D.C. adds women also suffer from ‘gender stereotypes that portray [them] as overly emotional. They are excluded from decision-making processes in an attempt to “reduce their suffering” which often leads to their perspectives being dismissed. In the future, one way or another irregular migration is likely to increase in the world, with the only (better but imperfect) solution through improved regulation and coordination – including across borders – in order to reduce risk and ensure that conditions for all people are more humane.
