Interrogating the dimensions of human security within the context of migration and rural livelihoods in Honduras

ABSTRACT

Security concerns, including poverty and violence, are viewed as critical factors in understanding the drivers of and experiences with internal and international migration from Honduras. Drawing on a broad definition of human security that encompasses ‘freedom from fear’ and ‘freedom from want’, in addition to insights from critical and feminist security studies, we interrogate different dimensions of human security for rural households from one region of Honduras. We include data from 248 household surveys and a qualitative activity with 60 secondary school students to explore how experiences of security influence migration decisions and outcomes from this setting. For surveyed households, we find that migration contributed to enhanced economic and emotional security among family members left behind. Fear of violence was a prominent barrier to migration rather than a motivation for migration. Additionally, educational attainment raised personal and household expectations concerning the feasibility of migration to mitigate insecurity. Overall, we find human security to be a useful framework to understand motivations for and outcomes from migration among these rural households. However, the relationship between experiences of security and migration needs to be situated in the context of broader rural livelihoods, including local economic realities and intrahousehold characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• Migration
• sustainable livelihoods
• poverty
• violence
• rural development
• remittances
• Central America

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the support and partnership of La Fundación para la Investigación Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras (FIPAH), the Community Health Centre of Yorito, and Insituto San Pedro. We also thank Kelvin, Irbin, Rony, Johanna for research assistance and Merida, Karen, and Nilda for technical support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Warren Dodd

Warren Dodd is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Marvin Gómez Cerna

Marvin Gómez Cerna is an agronomist and the Latin America Regional Facilitator for USC Canada. He also provides leadership to La Fundación para la Investigación Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras in Honduras.

Paola Orellana

Paola Orellana is an agronomist and the regional project coordinator for La Fundación para la Investigación Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras in Yoro, Honduras.

Sally Humphries

Sally Humphries is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada.

Amy Kipp

Amy Kipp is a Research Associate in the School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Donald C. Cole

Donald C. Cole is a Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada.