On Wednesday, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) held a briefing on its State of World Population 2006 report, which focuses on women and international migration. Titled "A Passage to Hope," the report highlights the role that women play in migration and its affect on their lives. The briefing featured Maria Jose Alcala (principal author of the report), Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY), Kathleen Newland (Director and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute), and Professor Susan Forbes Martin (Georgetown University), moderated by Sarah Craven (UNPFA). This articulate group of women spoke up about the benefits of migration for immigrants and their adopted countries, as well as the darker side of this issue.

Did you know that women making up half of all international immigrants in the world? This is no minority group with "special needs," as Newland pointed out. Women migrants may not be as visible as their male counterparts, but they outnumber men migrants in the United States. They typically work in less noticeable jobs – domestic and care-giving positions with private or semi-private employers instead of out in the public view. And yet they often don't have access to health services and are ignored by policy-makers.

Migration is a means to a better life for many women as they escape discrimination, violence, and poverty. Prof. Forbes Martin pointed out that migration is fueled by inequality, which particularly affects women. An interesting point that stood out to me is that migrant women are fortunate to be able to pursue a journey to another (hopefully better) life – many women don't have that opportunity and are left behind. In their countries of origin, women face gender discrimination. However, their situation may not improve as much as they hoped in their adopted country, where they also face the discrimination of being immigrants in addition to being women.

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The darker side of women in migration is human trafficking. According to Alcala, human trafficking is the "third most lucrative illicit business in the world, after drugs and arms." These unfortunate migrant women are forced to relocate unwillingly or are lured under false pretenses. Women are sold or enticed by promises of decent jobs and then end up trapped in sex work or servitude to unscrupulous employers. Threatened and vulnerable, they don't have access to health services or basic human rights and no one to reach out to for help. Rep. Maloney emphasized the need to tighten laws to end this egregious violation of women, including an amendment she calls the "pimp tax" which would establish an IRS office dedicated to this issue – a creative approach to an elusive solution.

There are also problems associated with willing migration – including a reproductive health angle. Since policy-makers typically think of young men when they consider migration, they have not adequately addressed problems that women migrants face. In fact, at times they have made these problems worse by specifically restricting social services to exclude immigrants. Women immigrants often do not access reproductive health services, due to barriers to care such as income, discrimination, language differences, fear of deportation, lack of education, or absence of available services. This includes prenatal, labor, and delivery services.

We need to raise awareness of the needs of immigrant women and increase their access to culturally sensitive health services. Policy-makers must address the reality that migrants are just as often women as men; Newland emphasized that it is critical that this is reflected in public policy and services offered to immigrants. Women migrants typically send money home to support family left behind, thus reducing poverty in their country of origin. Additionally, they make important contributions to their adopted countries – to the economy, the social structure, and the culture. We must respect their rights as human beings, laborers, and women.