Maria Magdala

Knowing where you come from, knowing where you are going

Let’s inspire each other to adopt a person-centered approach to crime, and design international activities, police training, and international operations while being sensitive to gender and human rights.

My deepest conviction

Throughout my police career, I have been utterly devastated by violence against women migrants and refugees and the lack of a gender responsive approach in many national and international settings.

As a result, I chose the path of advocacy, joining efforts with volunteers to raise awareness and contribute to social justice for women and girls in Africa who are survivors of sexual violence, with Magdala, REED in Canada, the Alqvimia Foundation in Spain, and my professional commitment to police reform in some countries from Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Our approach to crime needs to adopt specific measures to prevent, report, address and provide effective assistance and remedy for all forms of exploitation and abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence against smuggled women migrants and refugees.

  • The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (2018) includes the issue of eliminating violence against migrants.
  • The Beijing Platform celebrated in 2020 the 25 anniversary of the Beijing Declaration that articulated a vision for women to live their lives free from violence
  • The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against women penned a recommendation in 2017 on gender based violence that highlighted that women in the context of migration often face a heightened risk of violence, in origin, transit and destination countries.
  • You can find more institutional and academic resources about this matter of concern on a monthly basis.

Despite all the efforts of the UN system, International Police Agencies and member States to raise awareness and enhance protection systems of victims of trafficking and human beings, the violence against migrant women is not captured by traditional data sources and their access to justice is often overlooked in national laws aiming to deter irregular migration.

There is a pressing need to consider incorporating gender perspective into migration laws in order to prevent discrimination against women and uphold full respect of women’s and girl’s rights.

 

I have witnessed and consistently reported over the last 12 years how migrant women face intersecting forms of discrimination, including structural discrimination and also targeted and compounded violence in two migration routes: The Mediterranean and Central America.

For that reason I decide to commit my law enforcement career and personal voice to raise awareness that a lack of an intersectional approach in the devise design and implementation of counter migrant smuggling laws and international operations still need addressing needs to address the situation of refugee and migrant women, and other women subject to intersectional forms of discrimination and violence.

According to the Report of the UN Secretary General (A74/235)  travelling along certain migration corridors poses great risks for women and girls, including the risk of sexual violence by criminal gangs, human traffickers, other migrants and corrupt officials. For example, it is estimated that 60 to 80 per cent of migrant women and girls travelling through Mexico to the United States of America are raped at some stage of their journey. Along the Mediterranean route, estimates show that up to 90% of women and girls are raped en route to Italy.

Often there is a lack of gender-responsive migration policies and standardized procedures when law enforcement agencies run international operations or transnational meetings to tackle Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking Human Beings. This can result in policies that naturalize or exacerbate the risks, increase discrimination and undermine the right of women in contravention of international laws.

This the project Maria Magdala aims to support law enforcement colleagues to advocate for human rights when working in the first line or second line at the border, or in Investigation teams.

We also hope to inspire Project Managers and Directors working in TIPSOM areas to devise a gender sensitive budget when dealing with migration related crimes. But overall, what we try to do in Magdala, with Maria, is to look at crime from another approach, where the dignity, the safety and the human rights of women girls, boys and men are at the center of our common global justice mission.