14 June 2007

BRUSSELS – Stricter migration laws make women in particular more vulnerable to abuse from their partner. This is one of the conclusions of a study commissioned by the Centre to Promote Equal Opportunity and Fight Racism.

The study carried out by the universities of Antwerp and Louvain focused on three large groups of marriage migrants: those from Morocco and Turkey, those from the former East Bloc, and those from Southeast Asia.

The study showed that most marriage migrants are women, especially if they come from Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. The Turks and Moroccans are by far the largest group of marriage migrants.

The study shows a grim socio-economic picture for the "import brides." Of the group that arrived in Belgium in 2000, less than a third were employed three years later. Almost 90 percent of those coming from the countries near the Mediterranean were unemployed.

The Asians and Eastern Europeans were more likely to be employed. Most of these women had already been working at home before migrating. It is worth noting that the "import brides" from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus who were interviewed had held relatively high positions on the labour market before emigrating.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news