A significant shift towards individual involvement among women in international migration dynamics has taken place, displacing the traditional family-oriented migration pattern. However, many migrant women face challenges in the secondary labor sector, marked by low wages, job insecurity, and increased vulnerability to violence. Legal uncertainties and institutional racism further exacerbate their vulnerability, necessitating a closer examination of host countries’ migration policies. An intersectional approach is recommended to comprehensively address gender, migration, labor, and violence issues. In summary, this project highlights women’s evolving roles in global migration and their heightened vulnerability to violence, underscoring the influence of migration policies. It underscores the imperative for a gender-focused approach to tackle these complexities and showcases ongoing research efforts in Iceland focusing on the unique experiences of migrant women.

Scientific value and knowledge

Amidst the escalating migration flows concomitant with globalization, coupled with the evolving and heterogeneous profiles of migrants and the increasing prominence of women in the global labor market have witnessed a profound metamorphosis in redefining the status and participation of women within migration processes (Indra, 1999; Pessar ve Mahler, 2003; Mahler ve Pessar, 2006). Female participation in migration movements has evolved to encompass individual engagement, rather than solely familial involvement, thereby engendering a heightened prominence within the sphere of international migration dynamics. Nevertheless, migrant women lacking substantial leverage within the labor market of their host country frequently secure employment in the secondary labor sector. This sector is typified by occupations that the host-population tend to eschew, primarily due to their minimal skill prerequisites, diminished remuneration, and absence of employment security. These employment conditions afford limited avenues for migrant women to achieve enhanced levels of personal and financial self-sufficiency. Migrant women are often vulnerable to various forms of violence as well in the labor market, in addition to the challenging working conditions they frequently face. Furthermore, migrant women are often more vulnerable to be trafficked for economic and sexual exploitation. According to UN Women 65% of all trafficking victims globally are women and girls (UN Women, 2022). Thus, overall, migrant women often experience various types of violence, within their families or communities, as well as within workplaces or broader societal structures in the host country. Perpetrators of violence can include individuals in close relationships, employers, or unfamiliar individuals in their newly adopted country. Migrant women’s vulnerability to violence can be further exacerbated by their legal statuses, such as the absence of residency or work permits, leading them to avoid seeking recourse through institutional and administrative structures. Institutional and structural racism can also result in law enforcement and judicial authorities overlooking racist and gender-based forms of violence against migrant women in their communities.

As can be inferred from these explanations, migrant women may be vulnerable to various forms of violence, and the protective resources available to these women may also be limited. At this juncture, it is contemplated that the migration regime policies implemented by the host country assume paramount significance. The concept of migration regime aids in enhancing our understanding of how migration movements are shaped through the interaction of disparate legal systems, border regulations, administrative procedures, police technologies, and surveillance strategies (Rass &Wolff, 2018). Therefore, analyzing migration regimes can help to address migration-related challenges, promote human rights, and develop policies that benefit both migrants and the societies they move to. An intersectional approach is necessary to examine migration regimes from a gender analysis perspective and to comprehend fundamental dynamics such as gender, migration, labor, and violence. It is also important to draw attention how migrant women resist these regimes (violence and migration regimes) and carve out discursive-material space.

Studies related to migrant women coming to Nordic countries from non-Western countries have been conducted since the 1990s in various Northern European countries (Bevelander & Scott, 1996; Knocke, 1999; Bevelander, 2005; Kotyrlo, 2014). In Iceland, there the research on migrant women and how they experience worked based violence and family/intimate partner violence are non-existing. In that respect, the applicant in cooperation with a group of researchers at the school of education have for the past years been collecting data on migrant women´s experiences of violence. Few papers have been published based on that data (see though Kjaran and Halldórsdóttir, 2022). This study will draw on this dataset by focusing on the concepts of migration regimes, trafficking, and workbased violence experience by migrant women with the aim of comprehensively exploring the dynamic relationships among migration, migration regimes, violence, and the formation of identity among migrant women in Iceland. Thus, this study aims to elucidate the nuanced experiences of migrant women, while considering variations and convergences with existing literature across diverse cultural contexts. Thereby contributing to a global understanding of the challenges and opportunities they encounter within the nexus of migration and violence. For this purpose, the research questions that are being addressed within the scope of this study and will be explored further and discussed in three research papers for publications and an overall report in Icelandic are as follows:

• How do migration and migration regimes impact the experiences of violence, identity, and social integration among migrant women in Iceland, and how do these experiences compare to those in other cultural contexts as depicted in the existing literature?
• What are the unique challenges and opportunities encountered by migrant women in Iceland concerning migration, migration regimes, and violence, particularly in comparison to broader global trends and cultural contexts?
• How do migrant women in Iceland navigate and resist multifaceted social, political, cultural, class-based, and socioeconomic structures, shaping their context, while carving out discursive-material space of agency and hope?

Methods, data, and research plan

The data generated for this project contains four data sets: #metoo narratives of migrant women on their experiences of various types of violence (published in Kjarninn 2018); interviews with migrant women who experience(d) work-based violence; policy documents; and survey data with a nameless story or narrative at the end of the questionnaires. The data will be analyzed by employing critical discourse analysis and for the survey data we use SPSS regression analysis to develop a baseline understanding of the prevalence and most common types of violence. The study has been approved by the Ethical board at the University of Iceland and detailed measures have been taken to protect the participant and ensure their anonymity. As previously mentioned, the grant will be used to write three papers, an overall report in Icelandic and analyze the data as the following:

• Year 1: Paper on migration regimes. Data analysis of interviews/narratives.
• Year 2: Paper on violence experienced. Data analysis of survey/interviews.
• Year 3: Paper on resistance. Data analysis of interviews/narratives/survey. Overall report in Icelandic.