Sexuality in transit zones: sexual health of migrant men and young people in transit zones in Belgium and France

Publicly, these migrant men risk being gendered and socially constructed as dangerous, undesirable and a threat to society (Scheibelhofer, 2017; Wyss, 2022). However, with men and young people being very vulnerable in camp settings such as Brussels and Calais, this group is at high risk of sexual ill health. A recent report by Myria (2020) similarly stresses the regularity of sexually violent events against men in transit, including unexpected frisks while being naked and forced undressing in the presence of other migrants or police officers. This heightened vulnerability is neither reflected in policy attention nor in in-depth scientific research.

To meet this research gap, this doctoral thesis project (2021-2025) explores the sexual health and experiences of migrant men, on their way to the UK. A longitudinal research design is applied, combining participant observation and in-depth interviews over a longitudinal timespan of 1 year [M1, M6, M12].