Refugees

Masculinity on Unstable Ground: Young Refugee Men in Nairobi, Kenya

Citation:

Jaji, Rosemary. 2009. “Masculinity on Unstable Ground: Young Refugee Men in Nairobi, Kenya.” Journal of Refugee Studies 22 (2): 177–94.

Author: Rosemary Jaji

Abstract:

A gender perspective in refugee studies usually conjures up images of refugee women. Such images are an outcome of the association of vulnerability with women and children. Yet, it is not only refugee women who face monumental challenges in the country of asylum; refugee men also encounter a wide range of problems. Exile comes with obstacles for refugee men's quest to conform to culturally defined masculinity. This paper presents the nature of the challenges young refugee men predominantly from the Great Lakes region face in exile and the struggles they engage in as they seek to maintain and live up to their pre-flight notions of masculinity. The paper also shows how the men create alternative masculinities that are sustainable in a context that is largely characterized by existential uncertainties.

Keywords: masculinity, refugee men, Great Lakes, Kenya

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Gender Roles, Masculinity/ies, Men Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2009

Gender and Mobility: A Critical Introduction

Citation:

Penttinen, Elina, and Anitta Kynsilehto. 2017. Gender and Mobility: A Critical Introduction. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Authors: Elina Penttinen, Anitta Kynsilehto

Annotation:

Summary:
Our world is characterized by mobility. The number of refugees on the global scale has increased considerably. Meanwhile border control measures and legal avenues for mobility have been severely curbed, and the political climate has become all the more violent against racialized and gendered “Others”. Business elites traverse the fast-track lines to financial hubs and tourists discover new destinations. Ageing societies need people from abroad to perform care work. Domestic workers carve out nearer and further paths to reach employment, often leaving their family members behind in need of care. This book examines global mobilities from gendered perspectives, asking how gender together with race/ethnicity, social class, nationality and sexuality shape globally mobile lives. By developing analysis that cuts through economic structures, policies and individuals enacting agency, the book demonstrates how intersectional feminist analysis helps to comprehend uneven mobilities. Through multidisciplinary angle the book draws examples from different parts of the world and refuses to provide easy answers. Calling for students, scholars and general readers alike, the book invites the reader to imagine and relate to the world in manifold ways. (Summary from Google Books)

Topics: Class, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Economies, Care Economies, Gender, Gender Analysis, Intersectionality, Race, Sexuality

Year: 2017

Transitioning Gender: Feminist Engagement with International Refugee Law and Policy 1950–2010

Citation:

Edwards, Alice. 2010. “Transitioning Gender: Feminist Engagement with International Refugee Law and Policy 1950-2010.” Refugee Survey Quarterly 29 (2): 21–45. 

Author: Alice Edwards

Abstract:

This article traces the history of feminist engagement with international refugee law and policy through five periods from 1950 to the present. While gender is not explicit in the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, it has developed as a useful lens through which one can construct arguments for protection and rights. Nonetheless, the emphasis on gender in women's asylum claims and in policies and programmes on humanitarian assistance often minimizes the political, racial, and religious causes of persecution that affect women and the agency of women in making decisions based on these causes. The conflation of women-children-sexual violence-vulnerability has further led to instrumental yet unhelpful assumptions being made about refugee women. Efforts to bring women onto an equal footing with men through “gender mainstreaming” and “age, gender and diversity mainstreaming” though have not been without problems. In particular, the potential ousting of an emphasis on equality to a more generic focus on gender must be cautioned against. While recognizing the substantial progress made to date, the article argues for more and continuous engagement with feminism as a powerful methodology and political strategy as more work remains to achieve equality for refugee women.

Keywords: International Refugee Law, female refugees, asylum, 'feminism'

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Humanitarian Assistance, International Law

Year: 2010

Gender-Based Vulnerability: Combining Pareto Ranking and Spatial Statistics to Model Gender-Based Vulnerability in Rohingya Refugee Settlements in Bangladesh

Citation:

Nelson, Erica L., Daniela Reyes Saade, and P. Gregg Greenough. 2020. “Gender-Based Vulnerability: Combining Pareto Ranking and Spatial Statistics to Model Gender-Based Vulnerability in Rohingya Refugee Settlements in Bangladesh.” International Journal of Health Geographics 19 (1): 1–14.

Authors: Erica L. Nelson, Daniela Reyes Saade, P. Gregg Greenough

Abstract:

Background: The Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh continues to outstrip humanitarian resources and undermine the health and security of over 900,000 people. Spatial, sector-specific information is required to better understand the needs of vulnerable populations, such as women and girls, and to target interventions with improved efficiency and effectiveness. This study aimed to create a gender-based vulnerability index and explore the geospatial and thematic variations in gender-based vulnerability of Rohingya refugees residing in Bangladesh by utilizing preexisting, open source data.

Methods: Data sources included remotely-sensed REACH data on humanitarian infrastructure, United Nations Population Fund resource availability data, and the Needs and Population Monitoring Survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration in October 2017. Data gaps were addressed through probabilistic interpolation. A vulnerability index was designed through a process of literature review, variable selection and thematic grouping, normalization, and scorecard creation, and Pareto ranking was employed to rank sites based on vulnerability scoring. Spatial autocorrelation of vulnerability was analyzed with the Global and Anselin Local Moran’s I applied to both combined vulnerability index rank and disaggregated thematic ranking.

Results: Of the settlements, 24.1% were ranked as ‘most vulnerable,’ with 30 highly vulnerable clusters identified predominantly in the northwest region of metropolitan Cox’s Bazar. Five settlements in Dhokkin, Somitapara, and Pahartoli were categorized as less vulnerable outliers amongst highly vulnerable neighboring sites. Security- and health-related variables appear to be the most significant drivers of gender-specific vulnerability in Cox’s Bazar. Clusters of low security and education vulnerability measures are shown near Kutupalong.

Conclusion: The humanitarian sector produces tremendous amounts of data that can be analyzed with spatial statistics to improve research targeting and programmatic intervention. The critical utilization of these data and the validation of vulnerability indexes are required to improve the international response to the global refugee crisis. This study presents a novel methodology that can be utilized to not only spatially characterize gender-based vulnerability in refugee populations, but can also be calibrated to identify and serve other vulnerable populations during crises.

Keywords: Rohingya, refugees, gender, open-source data, vulnerability index, spatial analysis, GIS, Pareto ranking, spatial autocorrelation

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Refugee/IDP Camps, Gender, Health, Humanitarian Assistance, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar

Year: 2020

Adolescents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Pregnancy in Refugee and Migrant Communities on the Thailand-Myanmar Border: A Qualitative Study

Citation:

Asnong, Carine, Gracia Fellmeth, Emma Plugge, Nan San Wai, Mupawjay Pimanpanarak, Moo Kho Paw, Prakaykaew Charunwatthana, Nosten François, and Rose McGready. 2018. “Adolescents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Pregnancy in Refugee and Migrant Communities on the Thailand-Myanmar Border: A Qualitative Study.” Reproductive Health 15 (1): 1–13. 

Authors: Carine Asnong, Gracia Fellmeth, Emma Plugge, Nan San Wai, Mupawjay Pimanpanarak, Moo Kho Paw, Prakaykaew Charunwatthana, Nosten François, Rose McGready

Abstract:

Background: Adolescent pregnancy remains a global health concern, contributing to 11% of all births worldwide and 23% of the overall burden of disease in girls aged 15–19 years. Premature motherhood can create a negative cycle of adverse health, economic and social outcomes for young women, their babies and families. Refugee and migrant adolescent girls might be particularly at risk due to poverty, poor education and health infrastructure, early marriage, limited access to contraception and traditional beliefs. This study aims to explore adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of pregnancy in refugee and migrant communities on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Methods: In June 2016 qualitative data were collected in one refugee camp and one migrant clinic along the Thailand-Myanmar border by conducting 20 individual interviews with pregnant refugee and migrant adolescents and 4 focus group discussions with husbands, adolescent boys and non-pregnant girls and antenatal clinic staff. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify codes and themes emerging from the data.

Results: Study participants perceived adolescent pregnancy as a premature life event that could jeopardise their future. Important themes were premarital sex, forced marriage, lack of contraception, school dropout, fear of childbirth, financial insecurity, support structures and domestic violence. Supportive relationships with mothers, husbands and friends could turn this largely negative experience into a more positive one. The main underlying reasons for adolescent pregnancy were associated with traditional views and stigma on sexual and reproductive health issues, resulting in a knowledge gap on contraception and life skills necessary to negotiate sexual and reproductive choices, in particular for unmarried adolescents.

Conclusions: Adolescents perceive pregnancy as a challenging life event that can be addressed by developing comprehensive adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services and education in refugee and migrant communities on the Thailand-Myanmar border. Creating a more tolerant and less stigmatising environment in these communities and their governing bodies will help to achieve this goal.

Keywords: adolescent pregnancy, Myanmar, migrant, Qualitative, refugee, sexual and reproductive health, contraception, Stigma, forced marriage, domestic violence

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Refugees, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women, Girls, Health, Reproductive Health Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Myanmar, Thailand

Year: 2018

Violence against Displaced Syrian Women in Lebanon

Citation:

Usta, Jinan, Amelia Reese Masterson, and JoAnn M. Farver. 2019. "Violence against Displaced Syrian Women in Lebanon." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 34 (18): 3767-79.

Authors: Jinan Usta, Amelia Reese Masterson, JoAnn M. Farver

Abstract:

This study used focus group discussions to explore 29 Syrian women’s experiences of being displaced refugees in Lebanon. Women reported intimate partner violence (IPV), harassment, and community violence. They experienced difficult living conditions characterized by crowding and lack of privacy, adult unemployment, and overall feelings of helplessness. Most frequently, they used negative coping strategies, including justification and acceptance of IPV and often physically harmed their own children due to heightened stress. Some sought support from other Syrian refugee women. Although the study did not address the root causes of IPV, the results shed light on women’s experiences and indicate that training them in positive coping strategies and establishing support groups would help them face IPV that occurs in refugee settings.

Keywords: refugee, crowding, Intimate partner violence, Syria, Lebanon

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women, Violence Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Lebanon, Syria

Year: 2019

The Contribution of Mental Health and Gender Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence in the Context of War and Displacement: Evidence from a Multi-Informant Couple Survey in Iraq

Citation:

Goessmann, Katharina, Hawkar Ibrahim, Laura Bebra Saupe, Azad Ali Ismail, and Frank Neuner. 2019. "The Contribution of Mental Health and Gender Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence in the Context of War and Displacement: Evidence from a Multi-Informant Couple Survey in Iraq." Social Science & Medicine 237.

Authors: Katharina Goessmann, Hawkar Ibrahim, Laura Bebra Saupe, Azad Ali Ismail, Frank Neuner

Abstract:

Rationale: Intimate partner violence is a prevalent issue in refugee and internally displaced populations in postwar and migration settings including camps in the Middle East. In this context, partner violence has been associated with war-related trauma, camp factors, individual characteristics, and gender attitudes. 
 
Objective: With a dual-informant survey among a sample of Iraqi couples residing in a camp for displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (N = 92) this study investigated the relationship between war-related psychopathology, attitudes towards women, and male-perpetrated partner violence. 
 
Method: Moderated regression analysis was applied using information from both partners to predict partner violence reported by wives. 
 
Results: Over 58% of the women in this sample reported past-year exposure to partner violence. Further analyses revealed significant main effects of men's self-reported psychopathology (posttraumatic stress disorder and depression) and their own gender attitudes on partner violence. In a multivariate regression, moderating effects were found, as higher psychopathology levels and inequitable gender attitudes in men interacted in the prediction of male-perpetrated partner violence. 
 
Conclusions: This study highlights the high prevalence of partner violence among Iraqi displaced women. In addition, the results show an interplay of several violence-impelling factors in war-affected men. This emphasizes the importance of addressing both mental health issues and gender attitudes in the efforts to reduce or end violence against women in post-war settings.

Keywords: Iraq, Intimate partner violence, forced displacement, traumatic, experiences, mental health, gender attitudes, moderated regression analysis

Topics: Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Refugee/IDP Camps, Domestic Violence, Gender, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Trauma, Post-Conflict Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iraq

Year: 2019

Microfinance as a Means for Women Empowerment in the Colombian Post Conflict Scenario: Transformational Development or a Tool for Better Managing Poverty?

Citation:

Duarte Reyes, Laura Andrea, and Giulia Fattori. 2019. "Microfinance as a Means for Women Empowerment in the Colombian Post Conflict Scenario: Transformational Development or a Tool for Better Managing Poverty?" Peace Human Rights Governance 3 (1): 127-61.

Authors: Laura Andrea Duarte Reyes, Giulia Fattori

Abstract:

Gender financial inclusion initiatives, such as facilitating access to financial resources or business opportunities, have recently been promoted as a key strategy to advance women empowerment in post conflict scenarios, especially regarding refugee and internally displaced women. Drawing on literature review, this paper attempts to provide an analysis of the potential role of microfinance as a means for empowerment of internally displaced women in Colombia. It argues that without challenging the structural conditions that create poverty and discrimination against women, usually deepened during transition processes, these initiatives will be tackling the symptoms rather than the underlying causes of gender inequalities, thus missing out their transformative potential and simply providing tools for women to better manage their poverty. Instead, engaging other members of the household and the community (men and children), the recognition of the socio-cultural dynamics in which women live and the acknowledgment of women’s agency, may strengthen any effort of empowering women through financial inclusion during the post-conflict phase. As a result of this analysis a set of recommendations will be provided with the purpose of promoting virtuous cycles of female economic empowerment in the Colombian post-conflict scenario through transforming microfinance initiatives.

Keywords: financial inclusion, Colombia, post-conflict, women empowerment, bottom-up approach, microfinance

Topics: Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Development, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Post-Conflict Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2019

Marital Violence during War Conflict: The Lived Experience of Syrian Refugee Women

Citation:

Al-Natour, Ahlam, Samar Mohammad Al-Ostaz, and Edith J. Morris. 2019. "Marital Violence during War Conflict: The Lived Experience of Syrian Refugee Women." Journal of Transcultural Nursing 30 (1): 32-8.

Authors: Ahlam Al-Natour, Samar Mohammad Al-Ostaz, Edith J. Morris

Abstract:

Introduction: Marital violence increases during times of war. This study aims to describe the lived experience of marital violence toward Syrian refugee women during the current war in Syria. 
 
Design: A descriptive phenomenological research methodology was used to conduct semistructured interviews with 16 purposively selected Syrian refugee women residing in displacement centers in Jordan. Colaizzi’s steps of data analysis were used. 
 
Results: Four themes identified were identified: (1) Loss, insecurity, and suffering; (2) Shame and humiliation; (3) Justifying and enduring marital violence; and (4) Ways of coping with marital violence. 
 
Conclusion: The Syrian War conflict changed women’s lifeway and created a context for marital violence. Study findings suggests addressing marital violence during wartime and allocating resources to provide care and support of victims of violence in the displaced countries.

Keywords: transcultural health, women's health, phenomenology

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Syria

Year: 2019

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Major Depressive Disorder Among Women at Public Antenatal Clinics from Refugee, Conflict-Affected, and Australian-Born Backgrounds

Citation:

Rees, Susan J., Jane R. Fisher, Zachary Steel, Mohammed Mohsin, Nawal Nadar, Batool Moussa, Fatima Hassoun, Mariam Yousif, Yalini Krishna, Batoul Khalil, Jok Mugo, Alvin Kuowei, Louis Klein, and Derrick Silove. 2019. "Prevalence and Risk Factors of Major Depressive Disorder Among Women at Public Antenatal Clinics from Refugee, Conflict-Affected, and Australian-Born Backgrounds." JAMA Network Open 2 (5).

Authors: Susan J. Rees, Jane R. Fisher, Zachary Steel, Mohammed Mohsin, Nawal Nadar, Batool Moussa, Fatima Hassoun, Mariam Yousif, Yalini Krishna, Batoul Khalil, Jok Mugo, Alvin Kouwei Tay, Louis Klein, Derrick Silove

Abstract:

Importance: Pregnancy may increase the risk of depression among women who self-identify as refugees and have resettled in high-income countries. To our knowledge, no large systematic studies among women with refugee backgrounds in the antenatal period have been conducted.

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), trauma exposure, and other psychosocial risk factors among women who identify as refugees, women from the same conflict-affected countries, and women from the host nation and to test whether self-identification as a refugee indicates greater likelihood of prevalence and risk.

Design, Setting and Participants: This cross-sectional study was undertaken in 3 public antenatal clinics in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, between January 2015 and December 2016. Overall, 1335 women (685 consecutively enrolled from conflict-affected backgrounds and 650 randomly selected from the host nation) participated. Data analysis was undertaken between June and September 2018.

Exposures: One-hour interviews covering mental health, intimate partner violence, and other social measures.

Main Outcome and Measures: World Health Organization measure for intimate partner violence and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) for MDD. To make a diagnosis, 1 of 2 items relating to being consistently depressed for 2 weeks and 3 further symptoms that cause personal distress or psychosocial dysfunction were endorsed.

Results: Overall, 1335 women (84.8% overall response rate), comprising 685 (51.3%) from conflictaffected countries (women self-identifying as refugees: 289 [42.2%]) and 650 (48.7%) from the host nation, participated. The mean (SD) age was 29.7 (5.4) years among women from conflictaffected backgrounds and 29.0 (5.5) years among women born in the host nation. Conflict-affected countries included Iraq (260 [38.0%]), Lebanon (125 [18.2%]), Sri Lanka (71 [10.4%]), and Sudan (66 [9.6%]). Women who identified as refugees reported higher exposure to 2 to 3 (67 [23.2%]) and 4 or more (19 [6.6%]) general traumatic events compared with women from the host nation (103 [15.8%] and 21 [3.2%], respectively). Women who identified as refugees also reported higher exposure to 1 (147 [50.9%]) and 2 or more (97 [33.6%]) refugee-related traumatic events compared with women from the host nation (86 [13.2%] and 20 [3.1%], respectively). Women who identified as refugees reported higher rates of psychological intimate partner violence than women born in the host nation (124 [42.9%] vs 133 [20.5%]; P < .001). Women who identified as refugees were less likely to identify 5 or more supportive family or friends compared with women born in the host nation (36 [12.5%] vs 297 [45.7%]; P < .001). A greater proportion of women who identified as refugees reported experiencing 3 or more financial stressors compared with women born in the host nation (65 [22.5%] vs 41 [6.3%]; P < .001). Women who identified as refugees had the highest prevalence of MDD (94 [32.5%]), followed by women from other conflict-affected backgrounds (78 [19.7%]), and women born in the host nation (94 [14.5%]).

Conclusion and Relevance: Women identifying as refugees reported a higher prevalence of MDD and all the indicators of adversity related to that disorder. Even after risk factors were accounted for, refugee status was associated with risk of MDD. Assessing whether women attending an antenatal clinic self-identify as refugees may offer an important indicator of risk of MDD and a range of associated psychosocial adversities.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Conflict, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Reproductive Health, Trauma Regions: Africa, MENA, East Africa, Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Oceania Countries: Australia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Sudan

Year: 2019

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