In recent years the concept of migrant vulnerability has been increasingly used as a lens for analysis and an operational category through which to pursue protection, assistance and the promotion of rights for all people on the move, regardless of their legal status. In particular, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have advanced this thinking through separate conceptual frameworks and guidelines.

MMC’s intention in undertaking this report is to further explore the concept of migrant vulnerability by seeking to isolate factors which could make people on the move in the West Africa region more susceptible to experiencing (and/or witnessing, in the case of migrant deaths and sexual assault) one or more types of abuse. The report’s starting point is a unique 4Mi dataset compiled from more than 10,000 surveys of migrants and refugees in transit through the Central Sahel over a two-and-a-half-year period, in which respondents reported 23,204 discrete protection incidents.