Control at the distance: Transnational Economic Abuse Against Venezuelan Migrant Women

Economic abuse is a form of gender-based violence exercised against women by limiting their financial autonomy. UN Women (2024) defines it as the act of “gaining or attempting to gain financial dependence of another person by maintaining total control over their financial resources, preventing access to them, and prohibiting them from working or attending school.” In other words, it consists of restricting a woman’s economic independence in order to dominate her through access to and provision of material goods and money to which she is entitled (UN Women, 2024; ECLAC, 2023).

Although this definition refers to local, intrafamilial situations, in the context of migration it takes on a transnational dimension: when migrant women are subjected to economic coercion from abroad by partners or family members who remain in the country of origin. Our study on the current evidence of economic abuse in Latin America has identified this type of transnational economic abuse as an important and concerning trend in the region.

While there is no formal definition of “transnational economic abuse,” the term is used to describe economic abuses that cross borders. In practice, this may include coercive demands for remittances, threats, withholding of crucial documentation, or emotional and financial blackmail.

This is a dimension of economic abuse that has been highlighted in the context of Venezuelan migration in Latin America. The economic and social crisis in Venezuela has left many families without resources and has driven thousands of women to emigrate to countries like Colombia, Peru, or Ecuador, where they face high levels of labor informality. For example, in Ecuador, 79% of Venezuelan refugees or migrants live from informal work (GTRM, 2022), and in Peru, 88% of Venezuelan migrant women work in the informal sector (IDEHPUCP, 2023; CHS Alternativo, 2021).

Venezuelan migrant women face transnational economic abuse in their host countries. Some perpetrators—mainly partners or family members—have demanded remittances under explicit or implicit threats, such as withdrawing family support or reporting the victim, reproducing economic control patterns previously exercised in Venezuela. Mechanisms of coercion have also been documented, such as the withholding of important documents to force women to send money or remain under economic control.

These practices align with the concept of economic abuse defined by UN Women (2024), but with the aggravating factor of physical distance. Although there are few specific quantitative studies on this situation, various human rights and academic organizations agree that many Venezuelan migrant women remain economically dependent on individuals in Venezuela, and that this dependence can manifest as transnational economic abuse (UN Women, 2021). This phenomenon perpetuates gender inequality and increases the vulnerability of migrant women, as it keeps them tied to their original family environment even after crossing borders (UN Women, 2021).

In the country of origin, the economic crisis and the breakdown of social networks have left many Venezuelan families without resources, sometimes pressuring those who emigrated. In this regard, the United Nations (2024) indicates that migrant women may experience “multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination” that worsen their situation of economic dependence (due to age, income, marital status, etc.). Often, women take on a larger burden of family support by sending remittances, creating an additional financial obligation that weakens them. For example, a qualitative study on the labor integration of Venezuelan women in Peru found that many migrants work informally and allocate a large part of their income to support their families in Venezuela, resulting in stress and personal debt (IDEHPUCP, 2023).

At the same time, Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador face new forms of economic abuse in their host countries. One of the central issues is labor precariousness and the high informality to which they are subjected. Various official and academic reports agree that most work in unregulated and poorly paid jobs. In Ecuador, 79% of Venezuelan refugees or migrants rely on informal jobs (GTRM, 2022). In Peru, 88% of employed Venezuelan migrant women work in the informal sector (as street vendors, shop workers, or in beauty salons or restaurants) (IDEHPUCP, 2023). In Colombia, Venezuelan migrant women are mostly engaged in “jobs associated with informality, low pay, and little recognition,” according to ECLAC (2023).

This concentration in irregular and low-skilled jobs exposes them to multiple labor abuses: low wages, delayed or unpaid salaries, long hours without proper compensation, and even extortion by employers. A report from Refugees International (2022) indicates that Venezuelans in Colombia struggle to find “decent and stable” jobs and face “exploitation and abuse” in both formal and informal employment. In practice, migrant women are forced to accept exploitative working conditions to survive, reproducing the economic dependence that characterizes economic abuse.

This labor vulnerability may, in some cases, be accompanied by sexual and gender-based violence at work. Informal employment fosters unsafe environments: workers may face sexual harassment, abuse of power, or pressure to give up part of their income in exchange for keeping their job. For instance, it has been documented that informality not only implies low income but also being “victims of sexual harassment in the workplace” (IDEHPUCP, 2023).

In Peru, additionally, the hypersexualization and stereotyping of Venezuelan women worsen their exploitation: many suffer street harassment and even “unnecessary touching and sexual insinuations,” including when accessing health services (IDEHPUCP, 2023).

These abuses hinder the economic empowerment of migrant women and may facilitate economic abuse, making it even more difficult to escape violence, as they increase the fear of reporting due to potential retaliation (e.g., job loss or inability to regularize their status).

Another critical aspect is the lack of access to basic services and social protection networks. ECLAC (2023) warns that Venezuelan migrant women face discrimination in health services and less access to social security compared to local residents, especially for irregular migrants, who are “almost entirely excluded from the health system.” In practice, this means that migrants often cannot cover medical expenses or receive free care, forcing them to spend more on healthcare (at the expense of other needs), incur debt, or simply forgo services.

Documentation barriers exacerbate the problem: without regular migration status, many are ineligible for subsidies or social programs. A UNHCR report on Ecuador shows that more than half of migrant families live under irregular migration status and that 70% of households suffer from inadequate access to food (UNHCR, 2022). These deficits in services (health, education, subsidies) represent a form of structural economic abuse, as they reinforce the financial vulnerability and lack of protection of migrant women. Without access to basic rights, women must devote all their income to immediate survival, keeping them in a cycle of poverty and vulnerability.

Transnational economic abuse and economic vulnerability in the host country constitute a continuum of abuse against Venezuelan migrant women. On one hand, coercion from Venezuela forces women to maintain financial ties that constrain them; on the other, labor precariousness and informality in Colombia, Peru, or Ecuador leave them in situations of systemic exploitation.

These factors interact: the demand for remittances may compel them to accept degrading jobs, while legal irregularity (due to complex or costly migration processes) increases the power of those who withhold documents or threaten to report them. Official sources and specialized studies stress that these conditions are not isolated cases but reflect a widespread issue of gender and migration. As ECLAC (2023) notes, migrant women face working conditions that “relegate them to low-skilled roles,” while public services (health, social protection) rarely include them.

In summary, economic abuse against Venezuelan migrant women takes on a “transnational” form when the abuser resides in Venezuela and continues to control resources or demand benefits remotely. This phenomenon, along with the economic precariousness they face in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador (informal jobs, labor exploitation, legal and service access barriers), keeps women in a state of extreme dependency and vulnerability. This combination of abuses requires comprehensive responses: not only humanitarian migration and labor protection policies, but also psychosocial and legal support programs that explicitly recognize and address this transnational dimension of gender-based violence.

References

CHS Alternativo. (2021). Inclusión social y económica de mujeres migrantes venezolanas en el Perú (Proyecto FPAR – Alianza GAATW). CHS Alternativo. Retrieved from
 https://chsalternativo.org/publicaciones/inclusion-social-y-economica-de-mujeres-migrantes-venezolanas-en-peru/

ECLAC. (2023). Mujeres migrantes venezolanas: condiciones laborales y vulnerabilidades de género en América Latina. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

GTRM (Working Group for Refugees and Migrants). (2022). Informe anual sobre condiciones laborales de migrantes venezolanos en Ecuador.

IDEHPUCP. (2023). Condiciones laborales y violencia de género en mujeres migrantes venezolanas en Perú. Instituto de Defensa Legal y Estudios Políticos de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

Refugees International. (2022). Informe sobre explotación laboral de migrantes venezolanos en Colombia.

UN Women. (2021). Mujeres migrantes venezolanas: desafíos y derechos.
 https://lac.unwomen.org/es/digiteca/publicaciones/2021/03/mujeres-migrantes-venezolanas

UN Women. (2024). Violencia económica: guía para entender y enfrentar la violencia contra las mujeres. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

UNHCR. (2022). Informe sobre la situación de familias migrantes venezolanas en Ecuador. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.