Gender-Based Violence Among Latin American Women Seeking Asylum

What is it about?

Women seeking asylum from Latin America can experience trauma before leaving their home countries, during migration, and while navigating the asylum process. Gender-based violence—including sexual and domestic violence—is an especially important concern, but relatively little research has examined patterns of these experiences among women seeking asylum over time. In this study, we examined data from three independent studies conducted between 2016 and 2023 with Latin American women seeking asylum at humanitarian settings along both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border. Across the studies, women reported substantial exposure to sexual assault, other forms of sexual violence, witnessing sexual violence, and domestic violence. Domestic violence was particularly prominent. Reported rates were 21.8% in the first study, 62.9% in the second, and 38% in the third. Sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence were also reported across all three periods. We also found differences by age, suggesting that experiences of gender-based violence may vary across groups of women seeking asylum. Overall, the findings highlight gender-based violence as an important and persistent part of the trauma experienced by many Latin American women seeking asylum.

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Photo by ‪Salah Darwish on Unsplash

Photo by ‪Salah Darwish on Unsplash

Why is it important?

These findings reinforce that migration is not a single event. For many women seeking asylum, exposure to trauma and violence can occur throughout the migration journey—in their countries of origin, while traveling, at temporary stops, and while navigating immigration and asylum systems. The high rates of domestic and sexual violence identified across the studies underscore the importance of ensuring that services for asylum-seeking women are trauma-informed and culturally responsive. Mental health and medical providers need to be prepared to identify different forms of trauma, understand how those experiences may affect mental health, and connect women with appropriate mental health, legal, advocacy, and safety resources. The findings also point to the importance of considering age and migration context when developing services and protections. Rather than assuming that all women experience the migration process in the same way, research and practice should recognize that vulnerability to different forms of violence can vary across individuals and stages of migration. Because these findings came from three independent samples using somewhat different methods, they should be understood as descriptive trends rather than evidence that rates of violence definitively increased or decreased over time. Future longitudinal research can help clarify how experiences of violence change across the migration journey.