The Immigrant Workers Centre has released a new study by its Women’s Committee that sheds light on the harsh and often abusive conditions experienced by women without legal status in Québec. The research, based on seventy five participants with three excluded for methodological reasons, documents widespread physical and psychological violence as well as serious threats to health and basic rights.
Lack of legal status emerges as a central factor shaping the vulnerability of these women. Most have lived without status for more than a year, and some for more than ten years. They work mainly in domestic and agricultural sectors, averaging thirty hours per week with a weekly income of about three hundred nineteen dollars.
Stress levels are extremely high. Seventy nine percent of participants reported stress levels above eight out of ten due to their precarious immigration situation. Only one quarter rely on a single employer, forcing most women to constantly search for work, placing seventy five percent under constant strain.
Financial abuse is widespread. Seventy five percent report not always receiving minimum wage, and nearly sixty percent say they have experienced wage theft. Twelve percent state they never receive their full pay, adding pressure to women who often support family members abroad.
Workplace mistreatment is pervasive. Sixty six percent feel monitored by employers or recruiters. Fifty six percent report being yelled at. Forty two percent have experienced sexual harassment, and twenty five percent say they have been touched inappropriately. One participant speaking under a pseudonym described the profound sense of fear and powerlessness that comes with being mistreated while having no legal protection.
The health impacts are also alarming. Many women received no safety training and lacked basic protective equipment. Forty two percent suffered a workplace injury, and forty nine percent developed a work related illness. Only a small minority accessed needed medical care. Sixty six percent reported stress levels above eight due to their inability to access health services.
Women without status cannot access clinics or hospitals, even for pregnancy care or preventive screenings such as Pap tests or mammograms. At the press conference unveiling the report, Women’s Committee spokespeople emphasized the urgent need to ensure full and unrestricted access to healthcare for all women without status.
This study exposes a hidden reality and calls for immediate action to protect undocumented women from exploitation and violence and to guarantee meaningful access to essential services and pathways to regularization.
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