Attachments
This study is part of IOM Libya’s efforts to gain a better understanding of how specific vulnerabilities influence the experiences of migrant women and men in the country. This assessment compares the issues that migrant men and women experience in Libya and are associated with four key areas: community cohesion, household responsibilities, labour market engagement, and safety and security. The report highlights how cultural norms and social practices may translate into different roles and responsibilities for men and women, which present diverse opportunities and challenges.
HIGHLIGHTS
Household responsibilities
Cultural norms and social practices mean that migrant women and men may have different roles and responsibilities, which present diverse opportunities and challenges. As men tend to be the primary income earners, they may be more prone to pressures related to unemployment, economic constraints and debt. The management of household responsibilities, a role usually assumed by women, was described by some as being limiting, straining and stressful. Household responsibilities, such as childcare and chores, were also found to limit women migrants’ ability to find and secure employment, as well as, in some cases, socialize.
Women-headed households
Women sometimes also have to assume the role of primary income earner when, for example, their spouse dies, is sick or unemployed, or if they are not married. This translates into additional barriers to building and benefiting from strong social connections as well as finding and securing employment, which can in turn have an impact on their financial status, vulnerability to violence, exploitation and abuse as well as the ability of their children to fully enjoy their right to education.
Labour market
Findings from the focus group discussions, suggest that it tends to be more difficult for women than men migrants to find employment in Libya. However, in parallel, multiple other factors may influence migrants’ chances of finding employment, including cultural affinity, social networks, education levels, length of stay in Libya and language skills.
Building social networks
Women appear to generally have fewer opportunities than men to participate in kinship and build social connections, in part owing to their lack of economic means or financial autonomy as well as their responsibilities in the home. However, while men generally seem to enjoy more freedom to establish and grow social relationships, both in the frequency with which they can gather and in the locations where they can meet, their necessity to work limits their opportunities to do so.
Safety and security
Being a man or a woman influences the types of security risks migrants are exposed to. More migrant men work outside the home, have to travel to different locations and wait at recruitment points, which increases their vulnerability to violence, abuse and exploitation. Both men and women reported taking precautionary measures, such as avoiding certain streets or neighbourhoods, or only using taxi drivers who they believe to be trustworthy. However, more women migrants than men mentioned being constrained in the types of jobs they can undertake, the times at which they can travel and the means of transportation they can use because of security concerns. Furthermore, these issues were particularly acute for migrants who lack cultural affinity with Libyan society and/or documentation — all factors which were identified as leading to an increased risk of arrest and detention, particularly for men who tend to travel to a greater extent, to (find) work, for example, than women.