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Feminization of Labor Migration as Violence Against Women: International, Regional, and Local Nongovernmental Organization Responses in Asia

NCJ Number
200632
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 723-745
Author(s)
Nicola Piper
Editor(s)
Claire M. Renzetti
Date Published
June 2003
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article explores the issue of protection of female migrant labor from violence and other harm in relation to the changing context of migration flows in the Southeast and East Asian region and the resulting gender implications.
Abstract
The feminization of labor migration in the Asia Pacific region has become a well-established fact with the numbers of participating women exceeding the numbers of men. Globalization processes have changed the nature of women’s labor mobility where female migrants are dominating cross-border flows. However, they are doing so under increasingly dangerous conditions legally and socioeconomically. So, much of today’s migration flows involve elements of violence. This article focuses on institutional forms of violence, in that women are not provided options to find alternative employment and are not treated as workers worthy of protection. Violence against women becomes part of the employment itself. This article examines the debates and issues regarding intersections between women migrant workers’ experiences of specifically gender-based violence and violations of their overall rights. This is explored by investigating nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their advocacy networking activities in response to states’ non-policies. NGOs have a pivotal role in mediating the hegemonic dynamics implicit in labor migration. The export of labor is not approached as only an issue for migration policies but is increasingly emerging as part of holistic development policies of which trafficking or export of sex workers needs to be included. References

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