TSF works with migrant centers across the migratory route, in Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico, to share essential information for people on the move. The information on administrative and legal procedures, health, safe routes, rights and responsibilities, and awareness about risks such as exploitation, empowers people to make informed decisions and try to stay safe during their journey.
16 March 2026
Being on the move as a woman, gender minority or LGBTQ+ person brings a new set of challenges. Having access to reliable information can help mitigate some of these risks.
Women & LGBTQ+ people on the move: risks of violence and exploitation
Every year, in Latin America, thousands of people flee their homes. In an ever changing context, they face violence, human trafficking, exploitation, and more. These issues are heightened by misinformation – from fake news to scams – and lack of reliable, essential information.
Being on the move when you are a woman, a gender minority, or part of the LGBTQ+ community brings specific challenges. They are disproportionately targeted by human traffickers (IOM), and also the most likely to be targeted by online blackmail using the threat of diffusing intimate pictures.
Women are also frequently in charge of children, and might need information on their needs in this difficult context, resources, or educational content.
Essential information for women, gender minorities and LGBTQ+ people
In collaboration with centers, we have been implementing several solutions for women, gender minorities, and LGBTQ+ people to access relevant information. Drawing on our existing solution, we selected and included relevant information for these groups.
LGBTQ+ experiences and resources
For example, the LGBTQ+ section focuses on a person’s testimony; the discrimination that led to their displacement, and the resources they accessed, such as the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) to obtain legal documents.
“I really liked the programs for the kids because they are the ones who need the most care.”
- 28-year-old LGBTQ+ individual from Honduras.
Educational content for children on the move
Due to changes in migration policies, most families often stay in shelters for a longer amount of time, sometimes months. “That in itself has increased the need for educational content for children,” says Abril, Community Communication & Coordination Support Officer at TSF in Mexico.
People stay longer in shelters, and children spend more time out of the education system. TSF shares educational content at scheduled times. These screens focus not only on educational content, but also on useful resources like health or how to speak to your child about consent.
“One thing that stood out to me was the message directed at children, saying that if something makes them uncomfortable, they shouldn’t stay silent, that their body is theirs. The message had such an impact on me that I talked to my daughters.”
- Julia, a displaced woman from El Salvador, travelling with her children.
Gender-Based Violence prevention
Consent, sexual abuse, violence prevention – these are important topics to cover, especially since one in three women worlwide experience physical or sexual violence, migrant women facing an even higher risk. “Without reliable information about safe migration, money, or valid documents, migrant women are at much greater risk of gender-based violence, deception, and exploitation long before they reach their destinations.” UN Women says.
“Voluntary Return is safer. If I hadn’t seen this information, I would have left on my own.”
- 24-year-old Honduran woman in a shelter in Chiapas.
In addition to information empowering women to stay safe – from administrative procedures to safer routes –, TSF shares information focused on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), such as the violentometer, a tool designed to help identify and address GBV, that enables women to see what behaviours are violent, and when to get help. There are also resources provided, such as numbers to call in case of sexual abuse.
Information shared in dedicated spaces for women and children
Some shelters have a separate safe space exclusively for women and children. Working in collaboration with these shelters, TSF provided an additional screen in these spaces, selecting content specifically designed for these profiles.
The content is thought to be calming and relaxing: constant stress, the uncertainty of migration, difficult experiences leading to or during the journey, negatively impact women’s mental health during migration (Mixed Migration Center). In these spaces for women and children, TSF shares mental health content, with guidance and advice.
Every woman and girl, gender minority, LGBTQ+ person, deserves to migrate safely and with dignity. TSF shares reliable, relevant information to empower these groups to make informed decisions – but change must happen at every level and at every step of the way to eradicate violence against women and LGBTQ+ people on the move.
