- Strengthen the capacity of all border officials to address the different needs and experiences of people of different gender groups. This includes an understanding of how victims/survivors of trafficking and smuggling experience this differently based on their gender, and how to detect victims/survivors who might act differently based on their gender.
- Ensure that border officials are representative of the population they are in contact with, in particular in terms of gender. This often means encouraging the recruitment, retention, promotion and skills development of female, non-binary and LGBTI staff in migration-related departments and border agencies.
- Support the provision of capacity-building programmes for border officials on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, including: what it is; what is acceptable (and not); how to prevent, detect and report cases of exploitation and abuse; where to refer victims for support; and consequences for perpetrators and victims.
Gender considerations in the context of border management are critical, as different groups (that is, women, men, girls, boys and those who identify as neither male nor female) experience situations differently. A person’s gender shapes every phase of the migration journey, including the drivers, who migrates to where, how people migrate and the networks they use, opportunities and resources available at destinations, and relations with the country of origin (see Gender and migration).
States need to carefully factor such gendered differences into the development of border management policies. Such policies need to include an understanding of gender-related vulnerabilities, expected roles and power dynamics associated with being a man, woman, boy, girl as well as non-binary individual, and whether one identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex (LGBTI), which might expose migrants to divergent types of risks. Applying gender-specific dimensions of migration in border activities will help to ensure appropriate and efficient cross-border movements, and with due regard for migrants’ rights.
Given the potential for gender-based violence (GBV) – both witting and unwitting – at the border, any border management policy should have, as a core principle, a gender-sensitive approach in handling movement. This means, among other things, equipping border authorities with the capacity to recognize if a traveller is a victim of GBV, of trafficking in persons or of other associated forms of exploitation and abuse that would mean the traveller requires assistance and international protection (see Border control on arrival). Further, gender-sensitive standard operating procedures (SOPs) should provide protection mechanisms that take into account the gender of vulnerable migrants. All in all, gender equality should take a central position in all issues and activities in implementing border management strategy.
Policy Approaches
Taking a gender-responsive approach to cross-border management
Good Practice
Gender-responsive border authorities in Nepal
Enhancing the gender responsiveness of border authorities and institutions can help to address gender-based violence (GBV) and exploitation of migrants in border zones. In Nepal, civil society organization Maiti collaborated in a project that included training on gender and trafficking for border authorities, as well as the introduction of a policewomen’s unit. The purpose of the training was to strengthen the capacity of government officials to detect trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, and to improve respect for the rights of all gender groups at the border. Further, the project acknowledged the fact that women are highly underrepresented within the border community. Increasing the presence of female officers could improve the law enforcement response to violence against women and reduce issues related to GBV and other types of discrimination.
Source
IDS, 2016; DCAF, OSCE/ODIHR, UN-INSTRAW, 2008.