Description

Seeking asylum safely and with dignity is a human right according to international law. Xenophobic public health and immigration policies, such as Title 42, have interrupted and prolonged this legal process for many by barring entry into the United States under the guise of preventing COVID-19 infection. At the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Title 42 has disproportionately affected racialized individuals from the Global South, forcing this population to wait indefinitely in overcrowded and dangerous conditions in border cities, including Tijuana. With an increasing proportion of women and children approaching the border to seek asylum, special attention is needed to identify their lived experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) in the asylum-seeking process amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to understand asylum-seeking women’s exposure to GBV along their migration route, and its resulting emotional impacts. In collaboration with Al Otro Lado, a legal, non-profit organization based in Tijuana, Mexico, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N=35) with women aged 18-54 years intending to or currently seeking asylum within the United States. Eligible women also had to have experienced a pregnancy since March 2020. Preliminary findings demonstrated that GBV was experienced by asylum-seeking women pre-flight and in-transit to the U.S. Pre-flight violence was described as a catalyst for migration; women recounted threats of kidnapping and extortion from local criminal organizations and intimate partner and sexual violence, with limited recourse for their assailants. While in-transit to the US-Mexico border, women faced further GBV along their migration routes, including sexual assault, exploitation, and harassment. While awaiting ‘legal’ opportunities to cross into the US, most women lived in under-resourced, overcrowded shelters with poor security and limited privacy. Others feared being located by their perpetrators and felt insecure while waiting in Tijuana. Participants reported sexual and reproductive healthcare to be difficult to access, with little to no mental health services available. The harmful impacts of exclusionary US immigration policy are evident in the lived experiences of asylum-seeking women. Urgent efforts are needed to expedite the asylum-seeking process and provide safeguards for vulnerable populations, including recognizing GBV as grounds for seeking asylum.