REVIEW ARTICLE


Migrant Women-experiences from the Mediterranean Region



Caterina La Cascia1, *, Giulia Cossu2, Jutta Lindert3, Anita Holzinger4, Thurayya Zreik5, Antonio Ventriglio6, Dinesh Bhugra7
1 Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
2 Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
3 Department of Social Work and Health, University of Emden, Emden, Germany
4 Department for Medical Education, Medical University of Wien, Vienna, Austria
5 National Mental Health Program, Ministry Of Public Health, Beirut, Lebanon
6 Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
7 Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK


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Creative Commons License
© 2020 La Cascia et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; E-mail: erika.lacascia@unipa.it


Abstract

Introduction:

The phenomenon of migration is characterized and influenced by a number of different variables; and the different stages of journey are related to different levels and types of psychological distress. Women, in particular, are exposed to further specific risks during migration.

Aim:

To determine the factors that affect the psychological health of migrant women during the different stages of the migration journey.

Methods:

We provide a narrative review of the literature around the experiences of women during migration process, with a geographical focus on women migrating to the Mediterranean area.

Results:

Little data is currently available on the burden of mental health disorders for female migrants. Most studies about the mental health status of migrants were not gender-disaggregated or focused specifically on migrant women’s experiences of violence. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) was found to be a common risk factor faced by all the women who leave their native country to migrate to other countries.

Conclusion:

Despite the importance of the issue and the gender-specific variables related to the experience of migrant women, few studies have looked specifically at psychological variables and mental health status in the female migrant population. It is crucial that future studies are conducted around female migration, violence towards women, and women’s mental health, in order to provide an evidence-base for promoting adequate policies and prevention/treatment programs for women.

Keywords: Women, Migration journey, Violence, Mental health, Mediterranean region, Gender differences.