Shaping the migration journey: The role of corruption

The links between migration and corruption have started receiving increasing attention by scholars and policy makers, focussing mostly on the role that corruption plays as a push factor and facilitator of migration. This chapter adds to this newly developing literature by investigating how the experiences of corruption of irregular and forced migrants in Africa are gendered. It analyses both how corruption plays a role in the home country in shaping the migration path and how it continues to be important throughout the journey. The chapter finds that corruption comes into play whenever legal options for migration are limited and is a constant throughout all stages of the migration process for several migrant groups. While both men and women routinely encounter corruption during different stages of the migration process, this chapter finds that women are especially vulnerable to atypical forms of corruption, including sexual extortion (‘sextortion’). Women travelling alone are also especially exposed to corruption and sexual exploitation along the way. The paper also discusses the large impact of underlying gender norms on the experiences of corruption both in the home country and throughout the journey.