Every day, women across Libya who have been subjected to forced marriages, sexual abuse, and other dire situations, leave their home countries for the prospect of a better life. Longing for Europe’s safety, they are willing to face an equally perilous route ahead, with the constant risk of being returned to Libyan detention centres, where they are abused, starved, and tortured.
THE MEDITERRANEAN CRISIS
The waters between Libya and Italy are at the forefront of the current Mediterranean crisis. The area is witnessing a mass exodus of female migrants fleeing their home countries on overcrowded fishing and rubber boats. 2,196 people died in 2017 alone trying to reach Italy, more than double that of 2016. To combat this, the Memorandum of Understanding on Migration between Italy and Libya was renewed on 2 February 2020 which has reconfirmed the Libyan coastguard’s authority to stop migrants at sea and return them to detention centres.
HELL ON EARTH
Despite being the point of departure towards a new life, Libya is often described as “hell on Earth'' by the majority of women detained in the country. The Mixed Migration Centre “revealed that more than 17.5 percent percent of female migrants have experienced sexual abuse on their journey to Libya”. Knowing that the risk of being raped on the route is very high, some women choose to get contraceptive injections to prevent pregnancies, while others avoid washing their private areas to prevent being targets of sexual violence. According to the International Organisation for Migration, women are almost “10 percent of the more than 636,000 refugees… detained in Libya”. In the country, women find physical and sexual violence everywhere, on the streets and during their forced jobs as cleaners, perpetrated by male guards or anyone carrying a weapon. Sexual tortures for extorting ransoms are a widespread disturbing practice in Libyan detention centres, recorded via video which is then sent to the prisoner’s family. Women migrants have also experienced genital torture while being detained – a practice which is equally extended to men – such as beatings and burns to their private areas.
THE SEA JOURNEY
The journey from Libya to Italy usually takes three days and costs roughly USD $3,000 – an exorbitant price that no migrant can afford. As it can take many years to pay the smugglers back, migrants become vulnerable to trafficking; many Nigerian women end up working as prostitutes to pay their debts. Besides the high costs, the smugglers cannot guarantee that the victims will reach their destination. The risk of being arrested in Malta, returning to Libya or dying at sea is very high. It is not uncommon for mothers to watch their children drown in front of their eyes during the crossing, or for pregnant women to pass out from the engine fumes emanated by the boat. For example, in 2017, 26 young Nigerian women were found dead at sea, estimated to be between the ages of 14 and 18 – probably victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
INTERNATIONAL SILENCE
The ongoing situation is well known to the international community. The ratification of the legislation towards gender-sensitive asylum procedures was implemented by the members of the Council of Europe in 2017. Although the new measure has worked towards increasing the number of women workers in transit facilities, this has not turned out to be enough. Migrant women are still reluctant to seek help or report the abuses suffered during the journey, scared of possible retaliations. Psychological support and a therapeutic process should be provided by the EU to the women arriving in Europe, along with more supportive legislations recognising the importance of the role of gender in migration.
Cristina is currently studying for a Master's degree in International Politics at SOAS, University of London. She has experience in working in the charity sector and in education. Her research interests include women's issues, migration and human rights.