Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Is there good data about the sexual violence risks faced by women migrating from Central America to the US?

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

By Stevie Rosignol-Cortez

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Sexual violence is often cited as a high risk for migrants journeying from Central America to the U.S. Media accounts and reports by advocacy groups suggest the problem has been persistent for more than a decade. Statistics are spotty, and predate the surges in migration in 2019 and 2021.

Doctors Without Borders in 2017 reported that it treated 166 people for “sexual violence” in 2015 and 2016. It also surveyed 467 migrants and refugees at its facilities in Mexico, finding that nearly one-third of the women “had been sexually abused during their journey.”

In a 2015 study of Central American women migrants, the U.N. noted that many of the women, fleeing violence at home to travel north, risked more violence on their journey. “Several” women interviewed said they took contraceptives before traveling as they worried about the consequences of rape.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Doctors Without Borders Forced to flee Central America's Northern Triangle: A neglected humanitarian crisis (see p. 5)

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency Women on the run: First-hand accounts of women fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.