news

New Report Calls on World Leaders to Protect Human Rights of Female Migrants

Women Make Up Half of All Migrants But their Contributions Often Overlooked

September 2006

LONDON/NEW YORK — Today, half of all international migrants—95 million—are women and girls. Yet, despite substantial contributions to both their families at home and communities abroad, the needs of migrant women continue to be overlooked and ignored.

This year’s State of World Population report, A Passage to Hope: Women and International Migration, examines the scope and breadth of female migration, the impact of the funds they send home to support families and communities, and their disproportionate vulnerability to trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

The report, produced and published every year by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, reveals that although migrant women contribute billions of dollars in cash and services, policymakers continue to disregard both their contributions and their vulnerability—even though female migrants tend to send a much higher proportion of their lower earnings back home than their male counterparts.

Read UNFPA's 2006 report

Get the rest of the story