This paper developed out of research on the experiences of corruption of migrants on their journey to Europe. During the fieldwork for this research it quickly became apparent that two essential questions have remained largely unanswered in the current debate on corruption, especially in the context of migration: a) a more nuanced analysis of how corruption experiences are gendered b) a detailed discussion on the impact underlying gender regimes, i.e. patriarchy, have on corruption experiences. To illustrate the importance of including patriarchy and an understanding about the gendered nature of power in corruption research, the discussion in this chapter is centered around a relatively new concept, sexual extortion (’sextortion’), which has been defined as the “the abuse of power to obtain a sexual favor”(IAWJ, 2012, p. 9). This specific form of corruption was chosen for two reasons. Firstly, it is a phenomenon that shows the importance of broadening the classical male-centric view of corruption focusing on the exchange of money and goods. Secondly, as the discussion will show it is an example of the problematic implicit assumption of power hierarchies in corruption itself which have not been studied in enough detail until now. This paper thus discusses how underlying gender power structures can be linked to corruption. One of the most paradigmatic gendered abuses of power is sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), which as feminist research has shown, is embedded in a very particular power system that legitimizes and perpetuates such violence; the power system of patriarchy.
The research is based on approximately 50 interviews with experts and female and male migrants. Experts interviewed included policy makers, representatives of local, national and supranational government organizations, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, practitioners in the field of migration, corruption and/or gender and academia. This research is ethically sensitive and has been approved by the Ethical Review Committee of the Inner City and strict guidelines regarding interviews, consent, anonymity and data storage were followed

Ortrun Merkle is a post-doctoral researcher at UNU-MERIT/Maastricht Graduate School of Governance working on the relationship of migration and corruption. Clara Alberola is a research and education officer at UNU-MERIT/ Maastricht Graduate School of Governance as part of the migration team. The authors have been working extensively on the gendered experiences of corruption during migration with a focus on the Central and Western Mediterranean Route.

Clara Alberola
UNU-MERIT/Maastricht Graduate School of Governance
clara.alberola@maastrichtuniversity.nl