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Social effects of
migration on children and their families A
gender view
CRISTIAN MUNDUATE
UNICEF
Ecuador International Conference on Gender,
Migration and Development Seizing Opportunities,
Upholding Rights 25-26 September, 2008
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Contemporary migration trends

• Migration has globalized, Estimated N of persons
  living outside their place of birth or
  nationality
• 1990 120 million ? 2005 191 million (3
  worldwide pop.)
• More countries are origin, destination and
  transit at the same
• time. Higher trans-continental and
  intra-regional mobilization
• Migration has diversified
• Not only poor and adult peoples, qualified
  persons, children
• - 2005 44,000 Mexican children migrated to
  the USA, MORE THAN 50 travelled alone
• Migration has become politicized
• Migration has become genderized

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Female migration in Latin America

• America was the first region in the world to
  reach parity in numbers of migrant women and men.
• Intra-regional female migration to border
  countries
• Nicaragua to Costa Rica
• Peru to Chile and Ecuador
• Bolivia and Paraguay to Argentina
• Colombia to Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela
• Extra-regional migration to other destinations
• Mexico, Central America and the Andes to The
  United States
• Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru,
  Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina to Spain and
  Italy. Brazil to Portugal
• Peru and Brazil to Japan

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Migration to Spain by Latin American countries
(1995 2004)
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Migration and family dynamics

• Even though the extended family is very broad in
  the Andean world, still prevails the notion of
  the nuclear family as the ideal one. Hence the
  trend to see migration as a cause of family
  disintegration.
• Families are not necessarily destroyed, but new
  family arrangements and restructuring occur
  consequent rise of the transnational family
• Family arrangements to guarantee attention to the
  care of children vary in terms of who migrates
• Prior to migration, family cohesion not always
  perfect. Often female migration is the result of
  household conflict and weakened familial
  relationships.
• Such conflicts should be taken into account
  before drawing conclusions that may stigmatize
  women and children left behind

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Changes in roles and consequent vulnerability

• Females become heads of household due to
  migration
• Responsibility overload
• High vulnerability and financial uncertainty
  (dependence on remittances)
• Autonomy or higher subjugation?
• Migrants husbands
• Often take over female chores (usually with
  support from other women)
• Change in the male routine (less availability)
• Value closeness to their children and their
  wifes work
• Provider vs. Dependent crisis?
• Migrants childrens care-givers
• Grandparents stress generational gap,
  authority, use of remittances
• Youngsters restriction of mobility and
  education/ career plans
• Work overload vs. financial reward
• Separation trauma vs. family reunification
• Children some times left without relatives
  (friends neighbours)

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Extended Families integrated by relatives


Fuente INEC, Censo de población y vivienda 1982,
1990, 2001 SIL Cañar, 2007. Elaboración ODNA,
2008.

• 48 of emigrant houseseholds have females as HoH
• 6 out of 10 emigrant households aree extended
  and 1 out of every 10 is monoparental.
• In the migrant households there is a greater
  concentration of HoH in elderly ages.

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Migrant women gender continuity or rupture?

• Among migration motives (higher income to support
  family and education/ childrens health needs)
  50 mentioned career/education goals(study
  conducted in Spain)
• Rupture of traditional traditional gender
  patterns.
• Abrupt shifts in gender roles lead to disruptions
• 31 mentioned problems with gender issues in the
  household
• Some adapt, but others continue traditional
  habits in their country of destination
• Escape from patriarchal structures and those that
  represent control over females lives
• New ambitions, higher autonomy vs. stereotypes
  and social stricture
• New roles and ambitions self-esteem and personal
  development vs. guilt and emotional costs
• Empowerment and citizenship processes vs. loss of
  social status, discrimination processes.
• MIGRATION OPPORTUNITY
• New gender identities or power
  relationships

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Effects on children and adolescents

• Children and adolecents should be an important
  focus of research on migration processes, as they
  are directly affected
• In Ecuador, 40 of migrant men and 36 of migrant
  women have left behind underage children.
• Poor migrants, less well educated, tend to leave
  children behind
• The effects on children adolescents left behind
  depend on multiple variables who leaves, gender,
  class, ethnic group, education level, age, family
  dynamics, future plans
• Migration effects on children can cause
  ambivalence, emotional upheavals, and generally
  difficult circumstances
• Psycho-social effects vs. personal and family
  well-being

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Emotional Effects on children left behind

• Sadness, depression, fear
• Abandonment, lack of understanding, pain
• Difficulty processing change worse if not
  involved in decision-making, preparations, plans
• Higher emotional impact if home, school changes
• More communication with migrant parents makes
  children feel safer and with greater affective
  ties
• Slow disengagement and interruption of
  remittances erodes trust, creates loneliness,
  affects self-esteem
• Should family reunification not occur - i.e.,
  couple breaking up can lead to disillusion,
  resentment, vulnerability
• Social stigmatization can lead to alienation,
  drug abuse, gang participation, teen pregnancy

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Mechanisms of the transnational familiy,
depending on the parent who migrates ( of
children left behind)
Fuente SIL-CAÑAR 2007 Elaboración ODNA, 2008.

• 9 out of every 10 households use remittances
  sent by parents to cover basic needs of
  children. (food, clothes, education and health).
• Rupture with biological parents 6 of children
  lefy behind live in households that do not
  receive remittances, telephone calls and/or
  vistis of parents who live abroad

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Migrations benefits for children

• Migrants children value independence and
  responsibility
• Improved life conditions due to remits housing,
  basic services, clothes
• Economic stability generates familial harmony
• Reduces child labour remittances allow more time
  for study and other activities
• Education
• Greater access (rural families) to schools of
  better quality
• While performance may drop initially, it often
  improves later
• Health better nutrition, access to services,
  medicines, ability to manage emergencies

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• Education
• Greater access (rural families) to schools of
  better quality. While performance may drop
  initially, it often improves later. Thorugh
  remittances, indigenous children in rural areas
  who are left behind tend to leave the schools in
  their communities to go to the cities en search
  of a higher level of education.

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Rights issues/vulnerabilities for children from
countries of origin

• Exclusion of children and adolescents in
  decision-making
• Children forced to assume maternal or paternal
  responsibilities interruption of
  education/career plans
• Rights may have been compromised prior to
  migration, but the absence of parent increases
  vulnerability
• Social risk and violation of rights increase with
  migration at household, school, community levels
• Higher risk of physical and sexual abuse,
  particularly for girls

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BEST PRACTICES IN THE REGION
EXCHANGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH RESEARCH EXPERIENCES
(CONFERENCIA REGIONAL SOBRE MIGRACION-Central
America and North America and CONFERENCIA
SUDAMERICANA SOBRE MIGRACIONES, South
America) AND INCLUSION OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN
MIGRATION DIALOGUE ECUADOR 2007, Ministry for
Migrant Issues. Migration Public Policy THE
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MIGRATION PLAN,
2007-2010 Objectives - To generate and
consolidate linkages of migrants with their
families left behind and their home
country. - Strengthen and consolidate the
transnational families. - Coordinate with Social
Ministries Protection Programs for Children Left
Behind
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Governments Approach

• Citizenship
• México, El Salvador, Colombia, República
  Dominicana
• Ecuador
• Institutional Approach
• El Salvador (Vice ministry of External Affairs
  for Salvadorians Living
• Abroad)
• México (Instituto de los Mexicanos en el
  Exterior)
• Ecuador (Secretaría Nacional del Migrante)
• Development for Societies
• Support for Local Development
• Social Investment Fund for Local Development 3 x
  -México

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Pilot Study

• Purpose
• To gauge the impact of international migration on
  women and children left-behind and the use of
  remittances in migrant households and compare it
  with non-migrant households.
• The instrument uses UNICEFs Multiple Indicator
  Cluster Survey methodological scaffolding with a
  focus on international migrations material and
  immaterial impact on the left-behind in the
  following areas
• Health (non-disease-specific)
• Life Satisfaction
• Migratory Information
• Remittances
• Four focus groups were conducted to provide
  in-depth insights into the impact that migration
  has on the left-behind

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Sampling Design and Response Rates (RR)

• Two-phase sampling strategy
• Migrant and non-migrant households are included
  in the sample and prescreened. The former are
  oversampled

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Focus Groups Preliminary Results

• Participants across groups were almost equally
  likely to recognize international migrations
  positive and negative impacts.
• Younger children were more inclined to highlight
  migrations positive impacts.
• Older participants, in contrast, were more likely
  to highlight the negative impacts of migration
  than its positive impacts.
• Positive Impacts Negative Impacts
• Money to pay for a house
  Family disintegration
• Economic stability Drug abuse, gangs
• Better clothes
  Sadness

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Final comments recommendations

• Ensure fulfilment of the rights of women,
  children and adolescents within the migration
  process
• Lack of effective public policies addressing the
  impact of migration on children and women
• Develop stakeholder and decision-maker engagement
  strategies in order to develop effective
  government policies for women and children
  affected by migration
• Promote specific migration programmes and
  policies to inform, support and guide women and
  children.
• Strategy should focus on education, health and
  social inclusion
• Create or strengthen registration systems for
  female and children migration flows, or for CA
  that are left behind.
• Studies of the impacts on stakeholders in the
  migration process are essential children, women,
  heads of household, migrants, care-givers
• Policies to generate income for women and
  families no longer receiving remittances