Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse

In recent years, global migration flows have grown in size and complexity. The number of vulnerable migrants has increased accordingly (Galos, 2017). But what we are talking about when we say “vulnerable migrants”?

Many of the terms relevant to migration, such as “victims of trafficking”, are defined by international legal instrument. However, there are no internationally agreed upon legal definitions for the terms “vulnerable migrants” and “migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and abuse.” Further, there are no clear, internationally agreed upon procedures for identifying a vulnerable migrant and no operational guidelines for their protection and assistance. This absence of a firm definition and guidelines can result in gaps in the protection, and unmet needs, of vulnerable migrants.

In the context of migration, IOM defines “migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation, or abuse” as a group of migrants with limited capability to avoid, resist, cope with, or recover from risks or experiences of violence, exploitation, or abuse that they are exposed to or experience within a migration context, leaving them unable effectively to enjoy their human rights and at increased risk of violations and abuse, and who, accordingly, are entitled to call on a duty bearer’s heightened duty of care (IOM, 2019). The definition encompasses both individuals and groups, regardless of their migration status.

Throughout this chapter, the term “vulnerable migrants” is used as a shorthand, and should be understood to mean migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abusewhich is the focus of this chapter.

There are many ways vulnerability can arise in a migration context, and an understanding of vulnerability should not be limited to those qualifying for international protection as refugees.

Irregular migration, particularly if it involves smuggling, frequently involves transactions between people in vulnerable situations and those who prey upon them. Often, the mode of transport used along migratory routes increases vulnerability risk factors and causes protection needs to accumulate, beyond that of the irregularity itself.

Some migrants consent to being smuggled, however, during the smuggling process they may face significant risks to their lives and safety, and may be subject to violence and abuse. Other migrants, particularly irregular migrants, are vulnerable to mistreatment or exploitation related to their status as migrants. This can include demands for bribes, forced labour, forced sexual acts, kidnap and ransom. In this way, smuggled migrants can become victims of trafficking, and should be understood as vulnerable, even if they consented to the initial smuggling.

Increased vulnerability may also be present when migrants are transiting from or through areas affected by crisis. This gives rise to protection needs at different points in the migrants’ journey. In such instances, these needs might not relate to the “category” to which the migrants belonged at the beginning of their journey.

The migration process itself entails risks that may render migrants vulnerable, such as loss of documents, insufficient resources to continue the journey in safety and dignity, severe psychosocial health stressors, exposure to criminal elements and gender-based violence. These risks are often compounded by limited access to services that might mitigate or address their impact, leaving migrants clearly vulnerable.

Further, labour migrants are often employed under exploitative conditions and subject to violence, exploitation and abuse (see more in Chapter 2.4 Labour and migration).

With the growing scale and complexity of global migration flows, more and more people are risking their lives to make dangerous journeys that often cross many countries. The numbers of migrants who go missing or perish while trying to cross international borders reached record highs in 2016, and the numbers of displaced people has also reached its highest level since World War Two (Galos, 2017).

The most serious concerns are the perpetration of harms and rights violations against migrants which involves State responsibility and requires a response. Many actual harms, abuse and exploitation could be avoided by using an effective system to identify, recognize and respond to migrant vulnerability, reducing or eliminating factors that underpin their vulnerability. Actively preventing abuses against migrants from occurring is far more effective than responding to such abuses once they have occurred.

In recent years, more flexible programmes have been developed and funded to assist those considered to be vulnerable. The remainder of this chapter explains the migrant vulnerability model applied by IOM to effectively respond to vulnerable migrants and that States can use to develop their own policies and programmes to respond to this issue.

• Administrative data, including immigration-related data, criminal justice records and case management data collected by government and non-government actors involved in service delivery, can offer policymakers insight into the demographics of migrant victims of abuse, accidents, crime and exploitation, and of the perpetrators, and into the types of services that may be needed.
• Survey data collected from migrants through research conducted by government agencies, academics, non-governmental organizations, international organizations or even private sector actors through a range of methods (including in-person or remote interviews, or group discussions) can inform policymakers of specific vulnerabilities and potential responses.
• Innovative data sources, including the use of information communications technology and big data, may be used to determine, for instance, the areas of a given country in which migrants face greater risk, which can help policymakers to determine where resources should be allocated.

• The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC). This global data hub brings together data from case management files and trafficking hotline logs from around the world, as well as IOM case data. It provides up-to-date data that can be used to infer trends, analyse profiles and types of trafficking and inform policy priorities.
• IOM, Missing Migrants Project (MMP). Tracks migrant deaths and disappearances, and highlights concrete data on instances in which migrants have suffered some form of danger, abuse or exploitation due to their position of vulnerability. It presents disaggregated data and can provide policymakers with a fuller understanding of specific risks and migrant vulnerabilities, by providing concrete examples of situations where protection and assistance were not available.

At the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants (2016), Member States explicitly acknowledged the link between migration and vulnerability to dangers such as exploitation and trafficking. The resulting New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants expresses Member States’ commitment to protect the rights of refugees and migrants worldwide.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Goal 10 focuses on reducing inequalities. Along with the focus on “safe migration” and “well-managed migration policies”.

There is no single initiative focused on migrants’ vulnerability. Instead, this topic is cross-cutting and covered, as appropriate, in discussions related to other themes. (Read more in Chapter Inter-State policy dialogue on migration.)