Migration experts are calling for an increase in programs aimed at empowering women to put them in a more advantageous position, especially during migration. Already, female migrants are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation as well as trafficking. 

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has become even worse with many women and men stranded and unable to travel home or to their destinations due to border closures.

Speaking to WADR’s Atiewin Mbillah-Lawson, migration expert Dr. Christal Spel says research has shown that educated migrants are less vulnerable than uneducated ones, hence education needs to be at the forefront of these empowerment programs.