Paper short abstract:

This paper ascertains the impact of urban inequality and whether young internal migrants are prone to poverty, livelihood/human insecurity and more likely to become victims of crime when compared to the non-migrant youth population in Ghana.

Paper long abstract:

This paper ascertains the impact of urban inequality and whether young internal migrants are prone to poverty, livelihood/human insecurity and become victims of crime when compared to the non-migrant youth population in Ghana. The paper examines whether poverty and other socio-economic indicators, mediate the association between migration, livelihood security and vulnerability to vices such as crime. We use the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) 6 (2012) and 7 (2017), with a sample size of 15,000 households. This analysis focuses on youth in four (Greater Accra, Western, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions) of the current administrative regions in Ghana which record the highest number of internal migrants. The study defines youth as individuals between the ages of 15 and 34 years. Birth region and current region of residence are used together as a proxy for migration. This study employs econometric methodologies and mediation analysis to assess the determinants of livelihood, poverty, and crime. The paper also highlights an emerging livelihood inequality, which is influenced by the ethnic and spatial identity of young internal migrants. The study also shows that young migrants are prone to being victims of crimes. To address this spatial discrepancy, we recommend geographical targeting of poverty reduction initiatives, affordable safe housing, soft skills education and the introduction of humanitarian and employment centres in urban areas.

Paper short abstract:

The research aims to analyse how being undocumented makes migrants vulnerable to GBV and structural inequalities in Durban and Cape Town and what refugee and asylum seeking assistance is available. Looking at the South African migrant system and how the mechanisms lead to being undocumented.

Paper long abstract:

Political, structural and migrant policy frameworks render undocumented migrant women vulnerable to GBV. This is contextually placed in the aftermath of 2008 through to 2019 xenophobic incidences that took place in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa. It is imperative to examine the role of migration processes in shaping the perceptions of migrant women in South Africa's experiences of GBV, and in turn survey the coping strategies pursued.This PhD study intends to research undocumented migrant women's intersecting vulnerabilities to GBV based on social determinants . The paper will argue that social determinant of migration are politically based looking at a critic of the global migration angst as a contributing factor.As such South African - Refugee Services Decision Officer's acceptance and denial of asylum claims based on gender related cases is subject to perceived notions of political versus personal factors. Global attention toon gender and migration has looked into women, wives or mothers not having the same legal asylum status as their spouse or children after denial of legal applications . The gap is academic inquiry of the perceptions of undocumented migrant women in South Africa speaking of their experiences and the coping strategies employed.

Paper short abstract:

Over the past ten years, South Africa has experienced periodic episodes of internal turmoil as xenophobic attacks on black foreigners from other African countries led to deaths, beatings and loss of property. Leadership is important in explaining the drivers and responses to xenophobic attacks.

Paper long abstract:

Over the past ten years South Africa has experienced periodic episodes of internal turmoil as xenophobic attacks on black foreigners from other African countries led to deaths, beatings and loss of property. Whilst there are many explanations for this phenomenon, it is important to highlight the role of leadership in explaining the drivers and responses to xenophobic attacks. The paper traces how leadership within a South African context mediates questions around race, poverty, citizenship, gender and belonging in a late Apartheid context. Landau, Ramjathan-Keogh and Singh (2005) highlight that foreigners in South Africa are victims of discrimination at the hands of government officials, the police, banks, private companies and private organizations contracted to manage their detention and deportation. Politicians are also allegedly using foreigners as a scapegoat for lack of service delivery. Xenophobia is thus more or less institutionalised within South African social structures. Neocosmos (2008: 2006) argues that xenophobia has to be understood as a political ideology which has emerged in a context gripped by the politics of fear after apartheid. These politics has three major components namely 'a state discourse of xenophobia, a discourse of South African exceptionalism and a conception of citizenship founded exclusively on indigeneity' (Neocosmos 2008: 587). State discourse of xenophobia is based on how various arms of government from politicians, police, detention camps and even army all emphasize the message of invasion by illegal immigrants since the 1990s.

Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the interface of climate change and mobility through the lens of governance. It discusses ways that governance contexts influence mobility options and practices in areas affected by climate change. Ethiopia and Ghana provides the empirical background for the paper.

Paper long abstract:

Understanding the impact of governance institutions and practices on human mobility in contexts experiencing climate change mobility is a serious challenge today, not least in Africa. World-wide there are an estimated 22.5 million climate-related displaced persons annually, the majority in the global South. Other forms of climate-related mobility, including various forms of migration, resettlement and forced immobility are expected to become increasingly prevalent due to intensifying climate change effects. Yet we currently have a limited understanding of the role of different types of governance in shaping individuals' and households' mobility options and practices in climate change affected contexts. Vulnerability, food insecurity, weak land rights, poor access to resources, lack of assets that can secure better housing and productive capability, and of course poverty and conflict are all commonly explored factors behind mobility, but the role of governance as experienced at the local level where climate change is occurring, is not. It is a knowledge gap that we suggest presents a significant challenge as well as opportunity for governments, global institutions and for the individuals and households directly affected. The paper proposes an approach drawing on analytical work in the fields of mobility/migration, climate change and governance, and empirical evidence from preliminary work undertaken in Ethiopia and Ghana. The paper is part of the Governing Climate Mobility research programme linking three partners: the Danish Institute for International Studies, the Centre for Migration Studies in Ghana and the Forum for Social Studies in Ethiopia.

Paper short abstract:

he main purpose of this study is to understand the role of prostitution in the economy, assess how prostitution markets are organized, how technology shapes supply and demand, and the optimal use of law enforcement to legalize prostitution.

Paper long abstract:

The objectives addressed are the determination of sex worker prices, sexual bargaining and taxation in the sex trade. What makes the material unique is its explicit focus on economics as the primary methodology for organizing our understanding of prostitution. The findings are backed by statistical data from surveys from national registries, research, and reports. With reference to the analytical insights studied, the paper arrives at conclusive findings point to significant gaps in that Kenya is, as yet, not economically equipped to use prostitution for economic growth. It sheds light on underground markets, labor economics, risky behaviors, marriage, and gender. It is no secret that the sex industry exists in every country, forming a substantial part of the underground economy. Legalization would help shed light on the shadow sex industry activities, providing possibilities for regulation and taxation. Tax income thus generated could be used to improve public services, such as free education, free sanitary towels, giving young women other professional opportunities and in this way helping treat the social root causes of prostitution. For Kenya and many developing countries, prostitution is a major export industry and source of foreign earnings, a means of redistributing income on a global scale. We recommend prostitution to be legalized to ensure that taxes are collected from the sector, but these measures must be complemented by policies that challenge the structural basis of prostitution.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the relationships between forced displacement and volunteering through a focus on the voluntary activities of young refugees in Uganda. Research on the voluntary activities of young refugees and how this affects their employability has been overlooked and the paper hopes to address this.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the relationships between forced displacement and volunteering through a focus on the voluntary activities of young refugees (aged 15 - 25) in Uganda. While significant attention has been paid to the volunteering behaviour of young Ugandans, research on the voluntary activities of young refugees and how this affects their employability has been overlooked. The paper discusses findings from Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda (RYVU), a large mixed methods research project exploring the volunteering activities of young refugees in multiple settings across the country (www.ryvu.org), and explores how these activities shape pathways to employment, skills acquisition and experiences of inequality. This research examines these activities across four national groupings; Congolese, Burundian, South Sudanese and Somali refugees, within urban and camp-like settings. The framing of the traditional view of volunteering as an act of altruism is critiqued in light of the findings of the project, which examines the agency and motivations of those young refugees who volunteer. The nexus of volunteering and displacement examined in the paper also provides a new lens on the scope of volunteering to foster livelihood opportunities and the potential implications this may have for those organisations who rely on volunteers as a significant part of their workforce.

Paper short abstract:

The invasion and reconfiguration of African communities to states by colonial masters continued to be viewed as artificial borders and symbols of colonialism. This situation remain despite the long years of independence, rather it has further neo-colonized residence of border regions in Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The invasion and reconfiguration of African communities to states by colonial masters continued to be viewed as artificial borders created on the basis of political, ethnocentrism and economic gains to the larger disadvantages of border aboriginal. The socio-political reality which led to an upsurge in inter and intra movement of people across and from Africa has further diffused the cultural setting of these border communities. The influx of both legal and illegal traders and migrants of different inclinations infuses different cultural dimensions and attitudes to healthcare seeking and provisions. This study, therefore, examines the nexus between the artificiality of these borders, the influx of migrants, and its implications on healthcare seeking practices and provisions in border communities of southwest Nigeria. Socio-ecological theory was adopted as the theoretical orientation. The methodology involved the adoption of a triangulation of both quantitative (1,200 questionnaire) and qualitative techniques in gathering data. The study purposively selected residents of border communities in Seme, Ilara and Okerete in Southwest Nigeria, using exploratory research-design. Narrative data were generated using twelve Key Informant Interviews and eighteen Focus Group Discussions. The quantitative data were processed by using STATA 12.0. The qualitative data were content analyzed. The study revealed that border residents were currently experiencing identity crisis and their communities have high rate of crimes and discriminatory infrastructural neglect. Considering the implications of the denials of historical policies to the quality of life and health at the border communities, inclusive policies can better make up for the historical denials.

Paper short abstract:

This study revealed that youth migration has some negative penalties on the rural areas especially on agricultural production. When agile and active youths leave rural farming activities in the hands of the women and aged people, it causes a severe reduction in the level of food production.

Paper long abstract:

Migration is a common livelihood strategy for households across Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. Migration, which is referred to as the movement of people from one area to another and this affects labour force available for agricultural production. In particular, rural youth are those more likely to migrate in response to the lack of gainful employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture and related rural economic activities.

The study examined the reasons and effects of youth migration on agricultural production in South West, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 375 rural farming households in the two selected states. 75 percent of the farmers were male, with a mean age of 55 years having at least primary school education. Some of the identified reasons for youth migration included lack of electricity, pipe borne water, lack of communication facilities, lack of good road network, unemployment and education. Principal effects of youth migration were loss of family and hired labour with adverse consequence resulting to decline in agricultural output, reduction in population of the rural dwellers leading to under development of the rural area. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between agricultural production and youth migration (r = -0.654;p ≤ 0.01).

Recommended therefore is provision of basic social amenities in rural areas as a way to retain the young energetic youth in food production and foster development of the rural areas.