Displacement & Migration

Citation:

Oloka-Onyango, Joe. 1996. “The Plight of the Larger Half: Human Rights, Gender Violence and the Legal Status of Refugee and Internally Displaced Women in Africa.” Denver Journal of International Law and Policy 24 (3): 349–489.

Author: Joe Oloka-Onyango

Topics: Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Rights, Human Rights Regions: Africa

Year: 1996

Citation:

Mahmud, Nasreen. 1996. “Crimes Against Honour: Women in International Refugee Law.” Journal of Refugee Studies 9 (4): 367–82.

Author: Nasreen Mahmud

Abstract:

This article examines two perspectives concerning refugee women in the legal literature. One perspective argues that sex should be included in the Convention definition as a persecutory ground and that the concept of ‘persecution’ itself should be reformulated to incorporate the experience of women. The second perspective argues that a distinction must be drawn between a persecutory form and a persectory ground, and that issues relating to sex can be better addressed within the legal structures which currently exist. The article first provides a backdrop to the debate which discusess sexual violence and other forms of violence against women which exist in the refugee context; then gives a detailed exposition of both perspectives; discusses the issues in a practical sense with reference to the Canadian experience; and finally provides comparisons and conclusions.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women, International Law Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 1996

Citation:

Seckinelgin, Hakan, Joseph Bigirumwami, and Jill Morris. 2011. “Conflict and Gender: The Implications of the Burundian Conflict on HIV/AIDS Risks.” Conflict, Security & Development 11 (1): 55–77.

Authors: Hakan Seckinelgin, Joseph Bigirumwami, Jill Morris

Abstract:

Sexual and gender-based violence in many conflict and post-conflict contexts are creating vulnerabilities to HIV. The paper is based on research conducted in Burundi in 2007-08. The country was in a long-term civil war from the early 1990s until recently and has been the locus of post-conflict disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, providing a coherent and focused study. The research finds that the relationship between conflict and HIV/AIDS is a function of pre-existing gender relations that also regulate sexual life and determine critical female vulnerabilities. When put under stress by armed conflict, these vulnerabilities become amplified, creating conditions for increased spread of HIV. Analysis of how gender relations and vulnerabilities change according to the specific social and economic circumstances generated by military mobilization, organization and deployment, in relation to civilian displacement and insecurity, in a range of distinct circumstances, provides a framework for understanding HIV vulnerabilities during and after the conflict.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, DDR, Displacement & Migration, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Health, HIV/AIDS, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Burundi

Year: 2011

Citation:

Nolin, Catherine. 2006. Transnational Ruptures: Gender and Forced Migration. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Author: Catherine Nolin

Abstract:

A key development in international migration in recent years has been the increasing feminization of migrant populations. Research attention now focuses not only on the growing number of women on the move but also on their changing gender roles as more female migrants participate as principal wage earners and heads of household rather than as 'dependants'. The tensions between population displacement within and beyond Guatemala and the multiple local, regional and national realities encountered and reconfigured by these refugee and migrants allow a fascinating window onto the connections and ruptures experienced in a 'global/local world'. Transnational Ruptures holds great interest and value for a wide readership, from scholars who are interested in transnational and refugee studies and international migration, to upper level university students in disciplines such as human geography, anthropology, sociology, Latin American Studies, gender studies, political science and international studies. (Amazon)

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Forced Migration, Gender Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Guatemala

Year: 2006

Citation:

Nawyn, Stephanie. 2010. “Institutional Structures of Opportunity in Refugee Resettlement: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Refugee NGOs.” Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 37 (1): 149-67.

Author: Stephanie Nawyn

Abstract:

Previous research suggests that social welfare assistance can further subordinate already disadvantaged recipients. Refugee resettlement, essentially a social welfare program, offers a different perspective on how welfare assistance might exert social control. Using data gathered from 60 in-depth interviews with people working in resettlement and observations at refugee non-governmental organizations (NGOs), this paper argues that refugee NGOs provide a complex institutional opportunity structure that has the potential to reproduce the gender and racial/ethnic subordination embedded in refugee welfare policy while also providing opportunities for refugees to counteract subordinating gender and racial/ethnic relations through advocacy and cultural activities. These findings refine the conclusions of previous literature on the role NGOs play in incorporating refugees into American life, and point to the importance of NGOs for structuring opportunities for immigrants to challenge social inequality.

Keywords: refugee resettlement, welfare, non-governmental organizations, Gender, race/ethnicity

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Ethnicity, Gender, NGOs, Race

Year: 2010

Citation:

Shahidian, Hammed. 1996. “Iranian Exiles and Sexual Politics: Issues of Gender Relations and Identity.” Journal of Refugee Studies 9 (1): 43-72.

Author: Hammed Shahidian

Abstract:

This paper argues that sexual politics among Iranian exiles is a continuation of silenced conflicts between the identities of political activists and social and organizational constraints in Iran. During the initial years of exile, Iran's political conditions remained the preoccupation of the expatriate activists. Later on, after the defeat of the left and its loss of ideological and organizational legitimacy, denied or postponed identities have found a chance to resurface. Sexual politics develops through relationships between individuals and their social environment. First of all, it entails rearrangements of gender power relations. Second, the redistribution of power evokes challenges from expatriates. Third, the host society provides the exiles both with a favourable environment to resolve these conflicts and with new limitations and challenges. Finally, ideological and political considerations also play an important role in this process. These tensions stem from an attempt on the part of leftist exiles, to re-evaluate their past practice of silencing the conflict between their emerging identity and organizational demands as well as an attempt, first and foremost on the part of female leftist exile, to forge new gender identity and gender relations.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Gender, Gendered Power Relations Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iran

Year: 1996

Citation:

Vivero Pol, Jose Luis. 1999. “Stable Instability of Displaced People in Western Georgia: A Food-Security and Gender Survey after Five Years.” Journal of Refugee Studies 12 (4): 349-66.

Author: Jose Luis Vivero Pol

Abstract:

The Caucasus is one of the most troubled hotspots in the world, with the Georgian—Abkhazian conflict already lasting seven years. In conflict between 1992 and 1998, more than 100,000 people have been displaced to western Georgia, many of them twice. The paper examines the way this exile has severely affected their gender roles in production activities, with the collapse of the Soviet Union exacerbating the situation. Displaced women have increasingly become main household income earners working in petty trade and agriculture, while displaced men have a reduced role and an apathetic response to the situation. The paper examines the main food sources, concluding that there is no lack of food availability or food access, and highlighting the importance of the kinship network between the host and displaced community. Finally guidelines for future programmes are suggested, with a recommendation to include projects targeting men.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Food Security, Gender, Gender Roles, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, Central Asia, Europe, South Caucasus Countries: Georgia

Year: 1999

Citation:

Schrijvers, Joke. 1999. “Fighters, Victims and Survivors: Constructions of Ethnicity, Gender and Refugeeness among Tamils in Sri Lanka.” Journal of Refugee Studies 12 (3): 307-33. doi:10.1093/jrs/12.3.307.

Author: Joke Schrijvers

Abstract:

The focus of this article is the interplay of ethnicity and gender, in particular as reflected in the changing discourses of ‘Tamil womanhood’ in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a country torn apart by a prolonged civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant group fighting for a Tamil ‘homeland’ in the north and east of the country. Two extreme images of Tamil women have emerged: (1) aggressive women soldiers and suicide bombers in the LTTE; and (2) pitiful, poverty-stricken, dependent war victims in refugee camps. In between these extremes many variations have developed, and men and women of different backgrounds are actively influencing these images. The various new identities have not replaced the earlier ‘traditional’ image of Tamil womanhood, which is still colouring gender discourse in everyday life. Feminist groups and women leaders have been struggling to oppose both the conservative discourse on Tamil womanhood, which restricts women to an domesticated, male-controlled life, and the womanhood ideal of the LTTE, which urges her to take up arms and offer herself for the nation. In spite of the lack of emancipatory support structures, many women refugees in Sri Lanka have increased their space for manoeuvre by themselves, defying deep-rooted values and images of ‘womanhood’. Refugee women are practising ideals that come very close to the Sri Lankan feminist discourse, according to which women can assert themselves in the public and the private sphere, defining and defending their own women‘s rights. This image of refugee women as strong persons is new. What are the theoretical and practical implications?

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 1999

Citation:

Chang, Hyekyung, and Youngran Kim. 2002. “A Study on Family Stability and Social Adjustment of North Korean Refugees and Women’s Role.” Women's Studies International Forum 18: 137-59.

Authors: Hyekyung Chang, Youngran Kim

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: North Korea, South Korea

Year: 2002

Citation:

Parsitau, Damaris Seleina. 2011. “The Role of Faith and Faith-Based Organizations among Internally Displaced Persons in Kenya.” Journal of Refugee Studies 24 (3): 493–512. doi:10.1093/jrs/fer035.

Author: Damaris Seleina Parsitau

Abstract:

Based on ethnographic research conducted with four faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Nakuru and Nairobi, and among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mai Mahiu IDP camp, this paper explores the multiple roles played by faith, religious convictions and practices in contexts of displacement, examining the ways in which these serve to integrate displaced persons into their new circumstances. The paper has three main aims. Firstly, through an examination of the roles played by four churches in Nakuru and Nairobi it documents the diverse forms of practical, emotional and spiritual support provided by faith-based actors to IDPs; secondly, it examines how and why certain churches were transformed from spaces of refuge to targets of violence; and finally, it examines the practical and psychological impact of faith on the formation of IDPs’ religious identities and new forms of belonging in IDP camps. The second half of the article therefore argues that IDPs have not simply relied upon externally provided support such as that delivered by the churches of Nakuru and Nairobi, but in fact draw upon their own personal and collective sense of faith and religious belief to overcome challenges compounded by displacement. Whilst recognizing the significance of assistance provided by FBOs to IDPs, the paper therefore ultimately centralizes the agency of IDPs themselves.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugee/IDP Camps, Religion Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2011