Women, Migration and Social Environment

Abstract

Global migration and the increasing number of immigrant diversities influence the needs in the psychosocial and health-care system. Migration is a process during which a person moves from one cultural setting to another in order to settle for a longer period of time or permanently [1]. A ‘migrant’ is any person who has crossed an international border, regardless of the length of their stay. Immigrants may move en masse or singularly. Many people can be viewed both as ‘immigrants’ and as ‘members of ethnic minorities’. The latter covers groups that do not belong to the category ‘migrant’. For instance, the offspring of immigrants, especially the so-called second and third generation, are not immigrants themselves but may nevertheless be affected by many of the same issues as the first generation, including cultural, linguistic or biological factors, as well as social factors like acceptance or rejection as well as acculturation stress factors by the majority. Immigrants are a heterogeneous group in regard to their country of origin, reasons for migration, experience during the migration and legal status. Migration takes many forms, including forced and voluntary movement even if it is difficult to distinguish between forced and voluntary migration; the reasons for migration often include both. Immigrants experience stress-related risk factors during the stages of premigration, migration and post-migration. The number of immigrants in the world has more than doubled since 1975. In January 2015, the number of people living in the EU-28 who were citizens of non-member countries was at 19.8 million, the number of people living in the EU-28 who had been born outside of the EU was at 34.3 million, and all together 54.1 million immigrants were living in Europe [2]. The composition of immigration by countries is very different. In 2015 the main hosting countries were Germany (7.5 million persons), the United Kingdom (5.4 million), Italy (5.0 million), Spain (4.5 million) and France (4.4 million). These five Member States collectively hosted 76% of all immigrants in EU. The same five Member States had a 63% share of the EU-28’s population [2]. Women comprise slightly less than half of all international migrants. The share of female migrants fell from 49% in 2000 to 48% in 2017. Female migrants outnumber male migrants in Europe, Northern America, Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean, while in Africa and Asia, particularly Western Asia, migrants are predominantly men [3].