Monitoring of Gender-Based Violence Threats for Venezuelan Refugee/Migrant Women and Girls

We conducted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study using a ‘sensemaking’ approach with Spryng.io. Over a 12-week period from January to April 2022, female and male self-identified Venezuelan refugees/migrants, aged 14 and older, were invited to participate. Data was collected in Ecuador (Tulcan, Manta, and Huaquillas), Peru (Tumbes, Lima, and Tacna), and Brazil (Pacaraima, Boa Vista, and Manaus). Although the migration experiences being asked about were those of Venezuelan women and girls, male participants were also included. A convenience sample of potential participants was recruited from public spaces such as border crossings, points of aid distribution, refugee/migrant shelters, markets, and transportation depots, with some snowball sampling in Lima, where refugees are well integrated into the host community and, therefore more difficult to identify. In each of the nine interview locations, we intentionally recruited members of equity-deserving groups, including persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals, and individuals who identified as Indigenous or of Afro-descent. All data were collected in Spanish confidentially, using the Spryng.io app on handheld tablets. Shared micronarratives were transcribed and translated from Spanish to English. The survey (see Data Codebook) was co-created by the research team in close collaboration with service providers responding to the Venezuelan crisis. It was written in English, translated to Spanish by a professional translator, and then back-translated to confirm accuracy. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus involving a third individual who was also bilingual in Spanish and English. The instrument was pilot-tested with 25 Venezuelan women, and their feedback was used to improve clarity of the language and relevance of the questions.