Description
Introduction:
Central America has some of the highest rates of violence in the world, causing mass displacement of people across the Americas. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has developed the Migration Health Tool to investigate the sociodemographics, deportations, and violence experienced by People on the Move (PoM).
Objective: To understand factors driving violence and deportations PoM experience during their journey.
Methods:
Data was collected from 2,121 PoM between June 2022 to December 2022 from the following cities: Tegucigalpa, Danlí, and Trojes (Honduras); Tecun Uman (Guatemala); and Ciudad de Mexico, Tapachula, and Reynosa (Mexico). A non-probability sampling approach where a daily number of interviews equal to 25% of the PoM observed by MSF were targeted for enrollment. Tablets with the RedCap v21.2.0 were used for data collection.
Results:
Demographics:
The average age (SD) of the 2,121 PoM surveyed was 31 (9) and 55% of participants were male. An average of 2.4 (0.9) family members traveling with each PoM and 67% of PoM were traveling with at least one family member. The majority of PoM were traveling with at least one child under 12yrs (63%). 71% of PoM had a secondary education or more. PoM originated from 19 different countries with the top 3 countries of birth representing 74% of all surveyed PoM (Venezuela (53%), Honduras (14%), and Mexico (7%)).
Deportations and Violence:
54% of PoM left their country of birth after 2021, 38% left before 2020, and only 8% left during the COVID years of 2020 and 2021. 16% (n=327) of PoM reported being deported at least once and 22% (n=71) of deportees reported being deported more than once. Time spent in detention of PoM experiencing deportation: Less than a week 62%, between 1 and 4 weeks (29%), 1 month or more (9%). Among all PoM, the proportion PoM experiencing violent incidents was: Extortion (44%), Harassment (19%), Retention of documents (19%), Physical aggression (9%), and Destruction of documents (6%). The Police / Law Enforcement were the most reported cause for the following violence: Extortion (79%), Harassment (67%), Physical aggression (57%), Retention of documents (93%), and Destruction of documents (80%). Criminal Organizations / Gangs were the largest cause of kidnapping (48% of kidnappings). After controlling for sociodemographic factors, PoM who migrated before 2022 were less likely to be deported at least once versus PoM who migrated in 2022 (OR 0.7595%CI 0.59 – 0.96). PoM who reported being deported at least one time were also significantly more likely to experience the following forms of violence: Harassment (OR 1.44 (1.06 – 1.94)), Physical aggression (OR 1.99 (1.37 – 2.84)), Extortion (OR 1.52 (1.17 – 1.97)), Kidnapping (OR 2.04 (1.20 – 3.36)), Retention of documents (OR 1.71 (1.25 – 2.29)), Destruction of documents (OR2.91 (1.87 – 4.46))
Discussion:
PoM migrating across the Americas are vulnerable to violence, particularly PoM who have experienced deportations. Often, the perpetrators of violence against PoM are the police and law enforcement who are supposed to protect them. This study suggests that a greater focus on providing protection for PoM is needed.
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