Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Sep 2;23(1):1699. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16538-2.
Recent U.S. immigration policy has increasingly focused on asylum deterrence and has been used extensively to rapidly deport and deter asylum-seekers, leaving thousands of would-be asylum-seekers waiting indefinitely in Mexican border cities, a large and growing proportion of whom are pregnant and parenting women. In the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, these women are spending unprecedented durations waiting under unsafe humanitarian conditions to seek safety in the U.S, with rising concerns regarding increases in gender-based violence (GBV) among this population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given existing gaps in evidence, we aimed to describe the lived experiences of GBV in the context of asylum deterrence policies among pregnant and parenting asylum-seeking women at the Mexico-U.S. border.
Within the community-based Maternal and Infant Health for Refugee & Asylum-Seeking Women (MIHRA) study, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 30 asylum-seeking women in Tijuana, Mexico between June and December 2022. Eligible women had been pregnant or postpartum since March 2020, were 18-49 years old, and migrated for the purposes of seeking asylum in the U.S. Drawing on conceptualizations of structural and legal violence, we conducted a thematic analysis of participants' experiences of GBV in the context of asylum deterrence policies and COVID-19.
Pregnant and parenting asylum-seeking women routinely faced multiple forms of GBV perpetuated by asylum deterrence policies at all stages of migration (pre-migration, in transit, and in Tijuana). Indefinite wait times to cross the border and inadequate/unsafe shelter exacerbated further vulnerability to GBV. Repeated exposure to GBV contributed to poor mental health among women who reported feelings of fear, isolation, despair, shame, and anxiety. The lack of supports and legal recourse related to GBV in Tijuana highlighted the impact of asylum deterrence policies on this ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Asylum deterrence policies undermine the health and safety of pregnant and parenting asylum-seeking women at the Mexico-U.S. border. There is an urgent need to end U.S. asylum deterrence policies and to provide respectful, appropriate, and adequately resourced humanitarian supports to pregnant and parenting asylum-seeking women in border cities, to reduce women's risk of GBV and trauma.
最近美国的移民政策越来越侧重于阻止寻求庇护，并且广泛用于快速驱逐和阻止寻求庇护者，导致数千名潜在寻求庇护者在墨西哥边境城市无限期地等待，其中很大一部分是怀孕和有子女的妇女。在墨西哥边境城市蒂华纳，这些妇女在不安全的人道主义条件下等待的时间前所未有，以寻求在美国获得安全，由于 COVID-19 大流行期间该人群中性别暴力（GBV）的增加，人们越来越关注这一问题。鉴于现有证据存在差距，我们旨在描述在阻止庇护政策的背景下，边境寻求庇护的怀孕和有子女的妇女所经历的性别暴力。
在基于社区的难民和寻求庇护妇女母婴健康（MIHRA）研究中，我们在 2022 年 6 月至 12 月期间在墨西哥蒂华纳对 30 名寻求庇护的妇女进行了半结构化定性访谈。符合条件的妇女自 2020 年 3 月以来已经怀孕或产后，年龄在 18-49 岁之间，并为寻求在美国寻求庇护而移民。借鉴结构性和法律暴力的概念，我们对参与者在阻止庇护政策和 COVID-19 背景下经历的性别暴力进行了主题分析。
怀孕和有子女的寻求庇护妇女在移民的所有阶段（移民前、过境中和蒂华纳）都经常面临多种形式的由阻止庇护政策造成的性别暴力。无限期等待过境时间和不足/不安全的住所进一步加剧了对性别暴力的脆弱性。反复遭受性别暴力导致报告感到恐惧、孤立、绝望、羞耻和焦虑的妇女心理健康状况不佳。在蒂华纳，缺乏与性别暴力有关的支持和法律追索权突出了阻止庇护政策对这场持续的人道主义危机的影响。
阻止庇护政策破坏了美墨边境寻求庇护的怀孕和有子女的妇女的健康和安全。迫切需要结束美国的阻止庇护政策，并为边境城市的怀孕和有子女的寻求庇护妇女提供尊重、适当和充分资源的人道主义支持，以减少妇女遭受性别暴力和创伤的风险。
