Inhabiting in a foreign land: study on the living conditions of Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia

Abstract

Venezuelan migration is perhaps the most important migration event in Latin America in the last decade. Millions of people left Venezuela, with Colombia as their main destination. This means a challenge for integration, where women have been those who have been in a more precarious condition. This research aims to determine how the living conditions of Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia have changed in the context of the pandemic. This work is based on a mixed methodology that uses data from the Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares, February and December 2020, and interviews with fourteen women in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla. From this information, it is inferred that the Venezuelan migrant status and gender are factors that strongly condition access to employment and social rights, with women in an irregular migratory situation being the most affected. In addition, dependence on support networks, xenophobic events, and effects on mental health are key aspects to understanding the difficulties that migrants experience in the new normal.