NOT AT (A) HOME: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEPRIVATIONS OF BELARUSIAN WOMEN MIGRANTS IN LITHUANIA

Abstract

The intensity and structure of the migration flow from Belarus to Lithuania after 2020 indicate that the emigration of Belarusians is already long-term and potentially irreversible. Despite the fact that the main migration flow from Belarus to Lithuania after 2020 was formed by men, the increase in the number of female immigrants (measured as the number of valid resident permits issued for women) during this period was also significant: it increased from 3,064 in 2019 to 9,725 in 2024 (end of period). Women’s emigration experience differs significantly from men’s, and the adaptation and integration strategies of emigrants become more diverse
if women are involved in emigration. As the study showed, the deprivations faced by immigrant women are caused by both the fact of emigration itself and the difficulties in adapting to life in new conditions, as well as limitations in access to social (informational and emotional support, the system of social connections and interactions, health, access to social services and the social protection system, etc.) and economic (work, especially in a specialty, material support, availability of financial services, the presence and possibility of using previously made savings, etc.). Building individual strategies for adapting to life in a new country allows women to
restore (in full or in part) access to social and economic resources and reduce the risks of deprivation. The research goal is to study the situation of women migrants from Belarus in Lithuania, to identify vulnerabilities that lead to social and economic deprivation of women in emigration. The research methodology was based on qualitative methods, namely, conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with representatives of the target group (Belarusian women who moved to Lithuania after 2020). The qualitative analysis was supplemented by a quantitative assessment of the scale of emigration of Belarusian women to Lithuania after 2020, as well as an analysis of the profile of female migration based on official migration data published by Eurostat.