Migrant Women in Transit Through Mexico. The Quantitative and Gender Perspective

The objective of this work is to comprehensively analyze the experience of migrant women in transit through Mexico from a quantitative and gender perspective. Based on the Survey on Migration in the Southern Border (Emif Sur), the migration strategies in transit of Central American women are analyzed, as well as the harmful situations and damages they suffer on their journeys through Mexican territory, compared to males and in relation to gender roles. Additionally, three key concepts of women's migration journeys are examined: vulnerability, risks, and migration strategies. The empirical evidence analyzed indicates that women, despite their greater vulnerability to face migratory transit, deploy various migratory strategies that allow them to reduce the harmful effects of their journeys through Mexico and emerge more unscathed than their male compatriots; at least, regarding certain risks and dangers such as robberies and assaults, fatal accidents, and violent deaths. However, there are some problems in their trajectories, such as sexual assaults and human trafficking, which continue to affect women prominently and on which the existing information is insufficient.