Gender and migration in South Africa: Talking to women migrants

This report examines the intersection of gender and migration in South Africa, arguing that current migration policies are largely gender-neutral or geared toward men, which increases the vulnerability of women migrants. Through focus groups and interviews with mixed migrant women in the Western Cape, the study highlights the 'triple discrimination' of xenophobia, racism, and misogyny faced by African women migrants, and calls for rights-based, gender-sensitive policy reforms.

• The number of women migrating to South Africa is increasing substantially, with a growing proportion traveling independently of spouses or partners to meet economic needs.
• African women migrants in South Africa face 'triple discrimination' resulting from the intersection of xenophobia, racism, and patriarchy/misogyny.
• South African migration policies and the Department of Home Affairs' documents are largely gender-neutral or oriented toward men, lacking gender-relevant considerations.
• Women migrants are highly vulnerable to violence and exploitation at all stages of migration, particularly at border crossings and in secluded work environments like domestic or agricultural sectors.
• Restrictive, punitive migration measures—such as militarizing borders and limiting asylum access—do not reduce migration volumes but instead drive women toward irregular, dangerous pathways.
• Women migrants often experience high levels of xenophobia from both the community and government officials, including rude and corrupt behavior from Department of Home Affairs staff.
• Migration serves as a significant tool for poverty reduction and empowerment for women, who often remit a larger proportion of their income to their home countries than men do.
• Irregular women migrants in the study showed low levels of asylum system abuse, often avoiding the system entirely due to fear of officials.
• The closure of the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (RRO) since 2012 has created significant barriers for asylum seekers in the region, forcing them to travel to other cities to lodge applications.

APA

Mbiyozo, A.-N. (2018). Gender and migration in South Africa: Talking to women migrants. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-16.pdf

Chicago

Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël. Gender and migration in South Africa: Talking to women migrants. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-16.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mbiyozo |first1=Aimée-Noël |title=Gender and migration in South Africa: Talking to women migrants |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=November 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-16.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mbiyozo2018gender, author = {Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{Gender and migration in South Africa: Talking to women migrants}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-16.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }