Venezuela is going through a complex humanitarian crisis with political and social instability that has expelled around 4.8 million citizens from their country during the last decade. The increase in the migratory flow to Colombia of people from Venezuela has generated an outbreak of xenophobia, aporophobia and discrimination, a phenomenon that constitutes a threat to democracy. Migrants are exposed not only to discrimination and violation of their rights, but also to xenophobia and in some cases even violence.
Migrant women represent a group with special vulnerability due to the intersectionality between the condition of a migrant and the condition of a woman. For example, between 2017 and 2019 there was a femicide of a Venezuelan woman in Colombia every 11.5 days. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the precarious situation of migrants and fueled xenophobia and hate speech towards these populations. This discrimination and xenophobia towards migrants is manifested not only in the streets but also on digital platforms, social networks and the media, which function as a sounding board for xenophobia, fake news, and hate.
This event, organized by The Right to Not Obey, a project of the Otraparte Corporation and the Center for Global Development (CGD) as part of the "Let them Work" Initiative, will focus on discussing the main challenges faced by Venezuelan migrant women in their process of socioeconomic integration in Colombia and the strategies used to overcome them. This to contribute to the discussion on the status of the economic inclusion of Venezuelans in Colombia, its potential benefits, as well as possible solutions in the context of the pandemic. The panelists will discuss in depth the current situation for Venezuelan migrant women, the responses implemented and will share testimonies about their life stories.
If you have questions for our panelists, please submit them to events@cgdev.org, tweet @CGDev #CGDTalks, or submit your comments via YouTube.
PANELISTS
- Gioconda Herrera, Professor at the Department of Sociology and Gender Studies FLACSO Ecuador
- Carolina Moreno, Director Center of Migration Studies, Andes University
- Ana Aguilera, Social Development Specialist World Bank
FEATURING
- Stéphanie López, Consultant, CGD
- Helen Dempster, Assistant Director and Senior Fellow, Migration, Displacement and Humanitarian Policy Program at CGD
- Alejandro Daly, Director, El Derecho a No Obedecer
- Olivia Woldemikael, Consultant, El Derecho a No Obedecer, PhD Candidate Harvard University
- Eloise Antonella, Participant Advocacy School Bogotá
- Irene Sánchez, Participant Advocacy School Cúcuta
- Yosclari Filot, Participant Advocacy School Cali
MODERATOR
- Paula Gempeler, Impact Evaluation Manager, El Derecho a No Obedecer