China: A women’s refuge

Many of the migrating girls and women in Yunnan province tend to stay within the province, heading to the major cities, such as Kunming and Simao, for employment opportunities. Most migrants look for jobs using irregular channels, thus typically do not obtain legal employment information, know where to go for help, find an organization for support or protection or feel safe in pursuing protection when encountering bad experiences.

In villages, women have had little opportunity for collective activities or exchanging information and ideas, which means little chance for any one individual to learn from the experiences of others or even feel a community bond.