Corruption & Migration: How Women and Girls Pay a Heavy Toll
PhD fellow Ortrun Merkle (among others), UNU-MERIT
Development actors from around the globe are gathering in Brussels on 7 - 8 June to shape the debate around the main theme of "Investing in Development."
In the international debate on irregular migration, corruption is merely seen as an enabler. But the dynamics and effects of corruption in the context of migration are far more complex.
PhD fellow Ortrun Merkle will participate in a panel session of EDD 2017 entitled: 'Corruption & Migration: How Women and Girls Pay a Heavy Toll'.
Together with fellow panellists, she will discuss how:
1. Corruption undermines a free and well-informed decision to migrate, by for example exacerbating conflicts and violence contributing to forced displacement.
2. The more difficult regular migration is, the higher the profit for criminal smuggling networks, and the more dangerous the migration process becomes.
3. Women are especially vulnerable as they are affected by gender-specific forms of corruption, such as sextortion and sexual abuse.
4. Corruption still affects migrants and refugees upon arrival especially through denying access to basic services.
About the speaker
PhD fellow Ortrun Merkle holds a MA in Economics, a MA in International Relations and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Security Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, NY. Prior to that, she received a B.Sc. in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Passau, Germany and spent a year at the Helsinki School of Economics. Her PhD thesis focuses on the role of corruption in state-building and specifically the role of civil society and the impact of corruption on the political participation of women. During her PhD she has been a visiting reseracher at the Peace Research Insitute Oslo (PRIO) and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS) as well as UNU-Gest in Reykjavik.
Previously, Ortrun has worked for the Corporate Compliance Department of Daimler and at Transparency International USA, she has extensive training in mediation and is a certified intercultural trainer.
Venue: European Development Days, Brussels
Date: 07 June 2017
Time: 14:00 - 15:15 CET
