| 1. Meneghel et al. 16 (2022) |
Women of different nationalities on the Brazilian borders |
To analyze the deaths of women due to abuse in the 122 municipalities on the Brazilian border, and to measure and identify associated factors |
Quantitative - data from the SIM (acronym in Portuguese). Independent. variables: migration, income concentration, ethnicity/skin color, population, religion, and sexual violence |
The study delved little into the discussion of health. However, it shows that indigenous women, in addition to suffering from violence (13% of 181 femicides), face serious health problems. It reiterates that migration processes influence the health of populations |
Border regions can be affected by drug, arms, and human trafficking, leading to contemporary slave labor, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, femicide, and homicide. Some 1,384 female deaths were recorded from 2000 to 2015, with an average rate of 5.8/100,000. The distribution pattern of these deaths was predominantly concentrated in the central arc (Rondônia, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul), with the largest contingents of migrants and reports of sexual violence, especially in larger and more populous municipalities. There has been an increase in small municipalities. There is underreporting of cases, especially among indigenous women |
| 2. Brazilian Ministry of Health 34 (2013) |
Health care professionals, social workers and other sectors involved in migration and violence against women |
To compose the teaching material for the “women migration and trafficking for sexual exploitation and degrading labor” course to promote the training of professionals in health care, social care and other governmental and non-governmental sectors |
Qualitative - data from the literature, the SIM, and other health databases |
Migrant women’s health is affected by unsanitary conditions, lack of access to health care services, and exposure to occupational hazards and diseases. This highlights the responsibility of health care services in identifying and intervening in situations of violence against women |
Human trafficking affects poor, unemployed and young women, who are the most vulnerable to forced labor and economic or sexual exploitation. They are more exposed to migration between Brazilian states or to other countries, making them vulnerable in situations of violence, commercial sexual exploitation when it comes to adolescents or children, and forced prostitution when they are adults, with or without minimum payment for their work |
| 3. Brazilian Ministry of Health 35 (2013) |
Health care professionals, social workers and other sectors involved in migration and violence against women |
To compose the teaching material for the “women migration and trafficking for sexual exploitation and degrading labor” course to promote the training of professionals in health care, social care services, and other government and non-governmental sectors. The book contains 11 articles on the topic and addresses Brazilian women abroad |
Qualitative - data from the literature and the experience of the Suindara project, for professional training in the SUS (acronym in Portuguese) |
The impacts of violence on health include sexual exploitation, degrading work, difficulties in sexual and reproductive health care, psychological distress and mental disorders, chemical dependency, substandard living and health conditions, mistreatment, human trafficking in rural and urban areas, material vulnerability, and the transfer of people to places without emotional, community, and social connections. The rupture of social, emotional and symbolic relationships, difficulties in cultural integration, isolation, loneliness and the pressures and tensions of everyday life, underlying the migration process and the situation of irregularity, can lead to states of psychological fragility, leading to psychological distress and mental disorders |
Migrant women are among the most vulnerable to sexual violence in the workplace, and black women are the main victims of human trafficking, especially in the Brazilian border region. Women experience institutional violence in the health care and social care sectors and experience gender-based, sexual, physical, psychological, collective, and xenophobic violence |
| 4. Oliveira 36 (2022) |
Bolivian, Haitian, Angolan, Congolese and Venezuelan women in São Paulo (Brazil) |
To discuss the migration processes and mental health of migrant and refugee women in São Paulo |
Qualitative - questionnaire and interviews with nine migrants |
Psychosocial distress, situations of vulnerability, and oppression based on gender, race, and social class indicate adverse effects on migrants’ mental health. Women have exhausting routines, with few leisure moments. Domestic chores and family care are associated with this overload. They face discrimination in health care services because they are migrants; there is distress related to family breakdowns, with sadness, fear, and concerns about family subsistence deteriorated by COVID-19. Anxiety attacks, sleep disorders, headaches, panic attacks, and the use of psychotropics are reported |
Racism, discrimination, including in health care services, xenophobia, moral harassment, hunger and political persecution in the country of origin, and verbal abuse affect women |
| 5. Avellaneda Yajahuanca 37 (2015) |
Bolivian women in São Paulo |
To analyze the experiences of Bolivian women during health care, childbirth, and postpartum care |
Qualitative - participant observation and individual interviews |
Prenatal and postpartum health care are precarious, along with severe language and cultural barriers. Due to their work in workshops, they sleep poorly, the work setting mirrors their home, the food is poor, there is poor ventilation, and fabric dust affects respiratory health. Musculoskeletal disorders are related to sewing and fatigue. Workshops are precarious, with electrical problems, water leaks, and mold. Regarding childbirth, they feel safer at home. There are deficiencies in care, with disregard for cultural dimensions during prenatal and postpartum care |
Obstetric violence (kristeller maneuver, episiotomy, use of forceps; repeated vaginal examinations; difficulties in interacting with health care professionals due to cultural and linguistic barriers; institutional violence with xenophobic expressions by professionals; racism); domestic violence; lack of maternity leave; financial violence (robberies) in the workshops; exhausting work hours, lack of pay, cases of contemporary slave labor, and lack of labor rights have been reported. There are deportation threats from their employers. Their children suffer from bullying/xenophobia |
| 6. Balestro & Pereira 17 (2019) |
Gambian woman in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) |
To discuss language and culture in the context of feminized migration |
Qualitative - audiovisual resources available online (interviews) with a refugee, in addition to the use of official data on refugee status |
The respondent describes her motivation to leave her country as a result of her desire to study, have a profession, and be independent. There are language difficulties in Brazil and a need to overcome barriers to access to education, health care, and other public services, especially in migrant entry points |
The respondent addresses the culture of child marriage in her country, as well as patriarchal relations that reverberate in gender inequalities, in addition to forced migration and xenophobia |
| 7. Calderón Uribe et al. 18 (2021) |
Brazilian women in the context of internal displacement (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil) |
To understand the perspectives of internally displaced Brazilian women, who are family breadwinners, and the state’s actions in the face of this migration |
Qualitative - case study with discourse analysis of three interviews with women who experienced displacement in Porto Alegre |
Forced displacement, substandard living conditions, structural violence, and the lack of effective public policies that address women’s health needs have direct implications for their physical and mental health and that of their families. The lack of an integrated and accessible health care system for this population is one of the main deficiencies observed in the context of social care in response to displacement. One case of a homeless woman was identified |
The women interviewed and their families faced several forms of violence during their displacement, in addition to forced migration due to environmental issues. This violence can be manifested physically, directly, indirectly, and symbolically. Their experiences and narratives are devalued and become a form of violence perpetuated by negligence and lack of recognition on the part of the state. Persistent insecurity, exclusionary urbanization, and substandard living conditions are seen as consequences of structural violence that perpetuates poverty and exacerbates vulnerability to further displacement. There are reports of domestic violence and the death of children and partners due to drug trafficking |
| 8. Arruda-Barbosa et al. 19 (2024) |
Venezuelan women in the State of Roraima (Brazil) |
To analyze the violence perpetrated against Venezuelan immigrant sex workers using an intersectional analysis |
Qualitative - interviews with Venezuelan female sex workers and online media reports on the topic |
Precarious health conditions arise from social and economic vulnerability. Violence and sexual exploitation also cause psychological distress and mental illness, triggering depression and anxiety. Offering additional payment for unprotected sex increases exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other health problems. Women’s health directly reflects the condition of migration associated with gender and racial inequalities, highlighting the need for health care and the interfaces with these oppressions |
Structural violence with unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the need for subsistence occurring to Venezuelan women, with physical violence being the most feared, as they are attacked, including the use of bladed weapons by clients, partners, and even third parties. There is gender-based and sexual violence (rape), psychological violence, verbal violence, and sexual exploitation, all exacerbated by forced migration, poverty, and oppression related to race/ethnicity; patrimonial violence (theft of money), and discrimination against low wages due to the fact that they are Venezuelan |
| 9. Fernandes & Onuma 20 (2024) |
Women of different nationalities in Brazil |
To identify violence for the implementation of public policies |
Qualitative - bibliographic survey, documentary analysis and official data from the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) on requests for refuge in Brazil |
Situations of post-traumatic stress due to forced migration and adaptation to the new country, aggravated by socioeconomic vulnerability, are challenges and impacts on the mental health of refugees. Barriers to accessing health care are faced by many women in refugee situations, reflecting the neglect of Brazilian statistical data, in which these women are often addressed as a homogeneous group, negating the need for consideration of their specificities and plural situations, as well as different possible intersections of oppression |
There are reports of discrimination, forced migration, and sexual, cultural, and psychological violence; violence related to motherhood, discrimination, and lack of access to health care services, affecting physical and emotional health; separation of family members due to the lack of infrastructure in destination countries, in addition to difficulties with motherhood (pregnancy, postpartum period and care for children/family members); Intersecting discrimination based on social class, gender (gender identity and sexual orientation), race/ethnicity, ableism, religious intolerance and ageism (against elderly migrant women), and lack of guarantees of basic rights, intensifying the economic, social, political and cultural vulnerabilities of these women |
| 10. Ferreira et al. 21 (2022) |
Colombian, Haitian, Venezuelan and Uruguayan migrant women in Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná State, Brazil) |
To understand the psychological impacts of migration on the lives of female university migrants |
Qualitative - descriptive and exploratory. Interviews with semi-structured questionnaires and an intercultural sociodemographic form and content analysis |
The psychological health of women who migrate for education is directly impacted, from the migration process to their time at university: psychological distress, depressive and anxious states, somatization, sadness, low self-esteem, and weight gain. Transnational motherhood also exacerbates psychological distress (fear, anxiety, loneliness). Universities need to commit to gender equity, acceptance, and retention policies, based on an intersectional analysis. The study also notes the resilience and autonomy of women who migrate |
Reports of discrimination related to the masculinized space of some university courses; situations of gender and sexual violence from the migration process to their time inside and outside the university; structural violence, abuse and micro abuse related to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, culture, and language, among others; forced migration among venezuelan women, exploitation at work with low wages and intense working hours (14 hours/day) and precarious housing, and racism against a haitian woman who discovers she is black in brazil, reporting much distress, and against a colombian woman who has indigenous ancestry |
| 11. Makuch et al. 22 (2021) |
Venezuelan women in the State of Roraima |
To analyze experiences of violence against Venezuelan women in shelters in the State of Roraima |
Qualitative with focus group |
Faced with the violence they suffered, the women reported fear of their partners and of being abandoned by them, as well as feelings of guilt. They also expressed fear of other men living in the shelter, particularly as to using restrooms |
Reports of domestic violence (physical and verbal abuse and psychological threats), sexism, and xenophobia outside of shelters; violence perpetrated against children by partners, committed by women who assaulted their partners and other women who had romantic relationships with them; and patrimonial, physical, and verbal violence perpetrated by Venezuelans in shelters. Some are aware of the Maria da Penha Law and use it as a self-protection strategy |
| 12. Santos 38 (2019) |
Congolese women in Rio de Janeiro |
To reflect on the refugee process and mental health of Congolese women |
Qualitative - participant observation and interviews with Congolese refugees |
Women experience social distress and poor living conditions, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sadness. There is a close relation between their experiences as refugees and unemployment, language difficulties, and loneliness, with cases of emotional exhaustion, distress, headaches, insomnia, stress, tachycardia, fatigue, grief, depressive and psychosomatic symptoms exacerbated by armed violence in the favelas where they live. Forced migration and political persecution can cause trauma, fear, suffering, family separation, discouragement, anguish, and stress. There are reports of slow health care. Faith and spirituality are resources for support in the face of challenges |
Reports include domestic violence; armed/urban violence with feelings of fear, anguish, and crying when faced with assaults and armed individuals; forced migration; armed confrontations in the homeland; political persecution; xenophobia and racial division at work; sexual violence in armed confrontations in the homeland; racism, including in public health care services, and xenophobia suffered by their children in Brazilian schools |
| 13. Pinto & Amaral 23 (2016) |
Cuban women |
To analyze texts and reports about the mobility of Cuban female doctors in Brazil |
Qualitative - documentary analysis on government websites, commercial and non-commercial media on migration (from 2003 to 2013) |
Although the article does not address the health of Cuban female doctors, it indirectly addresses the work of these health care professionals |
Reports of racism by Brazilians when questioning whether the doctors were really doctors, as expressed in the media: “these Cuban doctors look like maids”, or “are they really doctors?” |
| 14. Santos et al. 24 (2015) |
Bolivian women in São Paulo |
To identify the characteristics of Bolivian women who are pregnant as a result of rape |
Qualitative - retrospective study, and quantitative - documentary study with 38 Bolivian women in a public legal abortion service who were victims of sexual violence |
Lack of awareness of public health care services, informal employment relationships, and irregular migration ultimately preclude women from accessing health care services. The authors indicate underreported sexual violence cases, as well as difficulties in seeking legal abortion. Most women arrived at the hospital after being referred by the police and other health care institutions |
Occurrence of sexual violence (rape; 63.2% by strangers), physical violence and threats |
| 15. Serrano & Martin 25 (2022) |
Bolivian women in São Paulo |
To analyze domestic violence against Bolivian women workers in home-based sewing workshops |
Qualitative - ethnography, interviews, participant observation and focus group |
Women are prevented by their employers from seeking health care services; they have little access to adequate food, and they are denied maternity leave. Regarding access to services, they face linguistic and cultural obstacles, such as representations of the health and care process that differ from those of Brazilian society. When faced with domestic violence, they reported suffering from depression, stomach pain, shame, fear, stress, and high blood pressure |
Bolivian women experience precarious working conditions: working days of more than 12 hours, little rest, and extremely low wages, bordering on slavery-like and unhealthy conditions, and they experience racism, classism, sexism, and xenophobia. Regarding domestic violence, because they are undocumented, they suffer from language barriers, and being far from their home country and without a support network makes it difficult for them to seek health care services. Some report death threats and financial violence from their partners |
| 16. Supimpa et al. 26 (2023) |
Venezuelan, Haitian and Tunisian women in the city of Curitiba (Paraná State) |
To describe the experiences of migrants during labor and birth in two public maternity hospitals in Curitiba |
Qualitative - hybrid thematic oral history and semi-structured interviews |
During the labor and birth process, the migrants reported pain, fear, loneliness, sadness, fear of cesarean section, and distrust of the health care team. There were also reports of trust in the teams, happiness, and a feeling of having been well cared for by nursing staff (newborn care, breastfeeding, hygiene, etc.). Difficulties in communication between health care professionals and migrants were also noted, showing the need for sensitive cross-cultural health care |
Unwanted vaginal touches during childbirth and obstetric violence |
| 17. Silva & Justo 27 (2020) |
Brazilian internal migrants (states of São Paulo and Paraná) |
To investigate the mobility of women who move from city to city in the inland region of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul |
Qualitative - cartography with interviews with two women |
Homeless people are often viewed socially as sick, far from the ideal of a nuclear family. There are reports of childhood anxiety and crying when recalling situations of violence, and there are reports of use of legal and illegal drugs and medication |
Women migrate to escape domestic gender-based violence and to seek better living and working conditions. One respondent reported experiencing physical and emotional violence as a child due to her homosexuality |
| 18. Souza et al. 28 (2020) |
Haitian women in several Brazilian cities |
To understand the repercussions of COVID-19 and the social determinants of health |
Qualitative - participatory action with Haitians. Snowball sampling |
Fear COVID-19, scarce financial resources, the impact of racism and prejudice on mental health, difficulties and overwhelm in balancing work and family care during the pandemic, as daycare centers and schools were closed, unemployment, anxiety, worry, stress, crying, and lack of sleep were reported. Health care services and social support strengthen pandemic coping strategies |
There is prejudice, racism and discrimination in the job market because they are women, as they receive lower salaries compared to men |
| 19. Gehlen et al. 29 (2023) |
Venezuelan women in Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil) |
To analyze the vulnerabilities of Venezuelan women and their experiences of violence in refugee status |
Qualitative - interviews with Venezuelans living in a city in Rio Grande do Sul |
Mental health deteriorated (panic disorder, depression, feelings of sadness, shame, humiliation, and inferiority) and illnesses worsened with migration; family relationships (with relatives and/or partners) were disrupted, with little or no support network (family or government). They reported satisfaction with SUS services; however, they felt that health care professionals had difficulty serving them |
Xenophobia, hunger, domestic violence, racism, sexism, sexual violence, stigmatization, classism |
| 20. Hora 39) (2023) |
Congolese women in Rio de Janeiro |
To analyze access to health care for Congolese women in Rio de Janeiro |
Qualitative - interviews with FHS managers and professionals and Congolese women |
Congolese women say that health care at family clinics is good, but they identify a lack of support within the SUS (precariousness of health care work and underfunding of public policies within the SUS). There is a lack of intercultural mediation, delays in obtaining health care, poor medical care and demands for family planning and prenatal care. There is no production of systematized data on the health of migrants and there is a need for professional training (permanent health education) in the SUS, and there is production of educational materials on health for migrants |
Violence against migrant women is a challenge, as is the case with sexual violence, and requires monitoring by mental health care services. There is obstetric violence, institutional racism, urban and armed violence in Rio de Janeiro (shootings and police operations in the territories where they live), and experiences of forced migration |
| BRAZILIAN WOMEN ABROAD |
| 21. Barata 11 (2022) |
Brazilian women in Portugal |
To discuss experiences of racism and obstetric violence against brazilian women in Portugal |
Qualitative - interviews with three Afro-brazilian women in Portugal, participant observation, focus groups and participatory artistic creation on obstetric care |
The fact that women report experiencing obstetric violence, xenophobic violence, and racial violence has implications for sexual and reproductive health, self-esteem, and quality of life, especially during pregnancy and childbirth. One woman reported postpartum depression associated with obstetric violence. Barriers to accessing health care services are also reported |
Gender-based/obstetric violence, the kristeller maneuver, verbal and physical abuse, mistreatment, body objectification, non-consensual medical interventions, episiotomies, inappropriate procedures, xenophobia and racism, hypersexualization of brazilian women, and verbal abuse during public breastfeeding were all found, among other incidents. Furthermore, it was commonly heard that women have “bad uteruses” and are of mixed race, which reinforces xenophobia and racism |
| 22. Chedid & Hemais 30 (2022) |
Brazilian women in the global north |
To analyze, through Spivak’s postcolonial theory, how Brazilian women in the tourism context in the global north are subjugated by foreigners |
Qualitative − case study through 14 interviews with Brazilian women who traveled for tourism in the global north |
The article does not directly address specific health outcomes. However, subordination combined with experiences of physical and psychological violence can have direct impacts on women’s health. Discrimination and objectification in the tourism context can also cause significant emotional distress. Regarding sexual violence, when harassed by men, they feel fearful, upset, threatened, guilty, and unable to react immediately. Reduced autonomy and self-care can impact their ability to seek medical care in foreign settings |
The main types of violence reported are psychological and physical violence. Psychological violence is expressed through insults and sexist and xenophobic comments, which produce feelings of inferiority. They are treated as objects of desire, and reinforce fetishized representations of Brazilian nationality. Physical violence involves aggressive approaches, shoving, unwanted touching, and sexual violence, causing immediate harm, in addition to fear and insecurity. Furthermore, they are subject to sexism and xenophobia |
| 23. França & Oliveira 12 (2021) |
Brazilian women in Portugal |
To analyze the resistance expressed on social media by Brazilian women in Portugal against discrimination and prejudice |
Qualitative - interview with the coordinator of the social network on instagram “brasileiras não se calam” and analysis of the discourse of the posts and netnography, from decolonial and intersectional perspectives |
Based on the posts of Brazilian women on the social network analyzed, the feelings were of frustration, sadness and humiliation |
Prejudice, discrimination, hypersexualization, sexism, and racism reiterate coloniality, even today, and its impacts on the lives of Brazilian women in the global north, with reports of symbolic, psychological, and moral violence, verbal abuse, harassment, and sexual violence. Brazilian women use social media to publicize the violence against them, highlighting their agency and activism |
| 24. Gomes 31 (2013) |
Brazilian women in Portugal |
To analyze prejudiced and discriminatory discourses about Brazilian women in Portugal |
Qualitative - participant observation, analysis of media and tourism discourses, use of questionnaires and interviews |
The article does not delve much into health issues. However, it notes that Brazilian women are stigmatized as those who “bring diseases” to the Portuguese, especially sexual ones |
We have hypersexualization and discourses about the “colonial body,” which are linked to stigmatization such as being sexually available and being lovers of Portuguese men, moral and sexual harassment, physical and sexual violence, and xenophobia. Brazilian domestic workers suffer harassment, especially sexual harassment, racism, and sexism, in addition to working in precarious jobs |
| 25. Mcllwaine & Evans 32 (2023) |
Brazilian women in London |
To analyze gender-based violence against Brazilian women in London (England) |
Quantitative/qualitative - questionnaire, focus group and interviews with Brazilian women and managers of migrant care services |
Feelings of shame, humiliation, fear (including deportation if undocumented), and isolation. Women in irregular migration situations had more difficulty accessing public services, such as social care, security, and health care, as well as labor rights. One migrant reported depression due to intimate partner violence |
Intimate partner gender-based violence, xenophobia, racism, psychological, physical, and sexual discrimination, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Instances of infrastructural violence, that is, violence perpetrated by services providing care to women experiencing violence. Exploitation of women by society, being outside their country of origin, and structural violence are factors that influence the decision to maintain relationships with intimate partners |
| 26. Pelúcio 33 (2023) |
Brazilian women in Japan, France, Ireland, Italy, Canada, United States, Senegal, England, Denmark, Norway, and Germany |
To analyze the narratives of Brazilian women abroad through the femigrantes br podcast |
Qualitative - social media (podcast) analysis from the perspective of Black feminisms |
One of the podcasts addressed health and intersectionality; however, the article barely addresses this topic |
Racism, colonialities of knowledge and power, machismo, sexism, misogyny, and hypersexualized Brazilian women were reported. Black women see their educational path as one of the strategies for confronting racism’s oppressions |
Intersectional violence and the health of migrant women in Brazil and Brazilian emigrant women abroad: a scoping review
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