Attachments
As young men make up the majority of migrants using smuggler services in the Central Sahel, the distinct and gendered experiences that women face during their migration journey are often overlooked. The gender of smugglers themselves also receives minimal attention, perpetuating the misconception that smugglers are exclusively men and invisibilising the role of women smugglers.
This snapshot, part of a MMC publication series examining human smuggling in the Central Sahel, seeks to contribute to the understanding of gendered interactions between migrants and smugglers. It analyses how gender and age influence contacts and perceptions between migrants and smugglers. A dedicated section on women smugglers, though drawn from a small subsample, provides preliminary insights into their roles in smuggling.
Key findings
• Women (39%), especially younger women (42%), slightly more often rely on a single smuggler for their entire journey than men (32%).
• Women more often rely on family and friends to establish contact with smugglers (39%) compared to men (29%), while men take a more direct approach in contacting smugglers (51% vs. 38%). Overall, migrants approach smugglers more often through in-person contact (51%).
• Regardless of respondents’ gender and age, smugglers resort more frequently to in-person engagement (84%) than phone calls (8%) and social media (8%) when initiating contact with migrants.
• Overall, migrants primarily view smugglers as service (62%) and information (39%) providers. Older women more often perceive smugglers as sources of information (45%) and protection (38%).
• 8% of all respondents used the services of women smugglers.
• Women smugglers offer traditional smuggling services, such as border crossings (55%) and negotiating with authorities (50%). Compared to men smugglers, however, women smugglers stand out in providing accommodation (40% vs. 26%), food and water (40% vs. 20%), and helping other migrants find jobs (24% vs. 6%).
• Women smugglers were described as criminals (10%) slightly more often than men smugglers (5%), and 20% of their users felt intentionally misled, compared to 16% of those who used men smugglers.