Resumen de Migrant Women in Italy: National Trends and Local Perspectives
This chapter looks at the experience of migrant women in Italy in the years since 1970. It examines the situation in two large Italian cities, Bologna and Florence, by looking at the experiences of migrant women in these cities, and at the efforts of the local authorities to provide support for them. Italy became a country of immigration in the 1970s when it became a privileged destination for migrants, after the introduction of restrictions on immigration in the European countries traditionally associated with it. In comparison with the 1970s, documented migrants are nowadays more evenly distributed throughout Italy, albeit with a stronger presence in the north and in the centre. Bologna has long been actively involved in the promotion of human rights for asylum seekers. The chapter aims to show how the local reality of individual cities/regions matters as much, if not more than the national one in Italy and how it can shape migrant women's experience.
