Publication

This study explores the gendered nature of xenophobia in South Africa and the impact of such xenophobia on migrant women. Set against the backdrop of the violent attacks against foreigners in May 2008, the paper details how migrant women in South Africa have been experiencing more subtle and insidious forms of xenophobia on a daily basis for as long as they have been in the country. These forms include not only physical violence, but verbal and psychological abuse, structural and institutional violence as well as cultural and ethnic discrimination. The paper concludes with recommendations for specific actions that can be taken to reduce the xenophobia experienced by women migrants (and, in fact, all migrants) in South Africa.