ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the gender dimensions of population movements, including migration, refugee flows and human trafficking. Population movements are both the result of and a cause of instability and conflict. They reached record highs in the late 2010s, and they might increase in the future due to climate change. Gender is a central factor in the dynamics of population movements. Gender influences who migrates, how people migrate, the dangers they face during migration and the dangers they face at borders and in host countries. Women and girls who migrate face special challenges in their home countries, in transit and in their new host countries. This chapter highlights the lack of gender perspectives in refugee and migration policies. It presents a case study of the European Union (EU) common asylum system to further develop these arguments. This chapter concludes that the growing emphasis in the 21st century on national security, border security and restrictions on migration will pose challenges for the protection and rights of migrants in general and women in particular.
