refugee women
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Refugee women face gender-specific challenges in navigating daily life at every stage of their migration experience.
Retrieved 14 November 2010.
Common challenges for all refugee women, regardless of other demographic data, are access to healthcare and physical abuse and instances of discrimination,
sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
, and human trafficking are the most common ones. But even if women don't become victims of such actions, they often face abuse and disregard for their specific needs and experiences, which leads to complex consequences including demoralization, stigmatization, and mental and physical health decay. The lack of access to appropriate resources from international humanitarian aid organizations is compounded by the prevailing gender assumptions around the world, though recent shifts in
gender mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the implications for people of different genders of a planned policy action, including legislation and programmes. Mainstreaming offers a pluralistic approach that values the diversi ...
are aiming to combat these commonalities.


Health

Health issues faced by refugee women range from dehydration and diarrhea, to high fevers and malaria. They also include more broad reaching phenomena, such as
gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply a ...
and
maternal health Maternal health is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in order to ens ...
. The leading causes of death to refugee women include
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
, diarrhea, respiratory infections, and reproductive complications. Health concerns of refugee women are influenced by a variety of factors including their physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Health complications and concerns for refugee women are prevalent both during their time as refugees living in transient camps or shelters, as well as once they relocate to countries of asylum or resettlement. External factors contributing to the health concerns of refugee women include culturally-reinforced
gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...
, limited mobility, lack of access to healthcare facilities, high population density within the refugee camps, and low levels of education.


Reproductive health

International humanitarian aid organizations, such as the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, agree that adequate reproductive care must be "safe, effective... ndaffordable." According to the United Nations, while universal values in
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
support the availability of reproductive health care needs of all women, services that conform to adequate standards while respecting cultural differences are rarely provided to refugee women. Due to the lack of satisfactory reproductive health care in refugee camps, complications related to child delivery and pregnancy was one of the leading cause of both death and illness among refugee women living in transitory camps in 2010. Refugee women who have left humanitarian aid camps and have moved permanently to countries of asylum and resettlement also face reproductive health challenges. A study published in 2004 by the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health found that refugee women living in wealthy nations face troubles in accessing appropriate reproductive care due to stereotyping, language barriers, and lack of cultural respect and understanding.


Mental health

Refugee women often face a host of
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
complications in their home countries, in refugee camps, and in countries of resettlement or
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
. In their native countries, women who have fled as refugees may have been psychosocially or physically abused for a variety of reasons, including
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
; an attempted shaming of a family, community, or culture; or for being seen as " politically dangerous." These forms of abuse often lead to exile or fleeing, and have the propensity to cause distress and detrimental harm to the mental health and wellbeing of refugee women. In refugee camps, the mental health of refugee women is also affected by incidences of discrimination based on gender, sexual and domestic violence,
forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, and heavy responsibilities. Many refugee women are also found to experience and post-partum depression and severe perinatal depression that can affect their day-to-day life and even their families. In countries of asylum and resettlement, complications with mental health also prevail due to language and cultural barriers, the
post traumatic stress Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
of fleeing persecution in their home countries, difficulty seeking mental health treatment, and an increased likelihood of facing abuse as compared to host-country nationals. In response to fleeing their home countries, refugee and asylum-seeking women develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many researchers subcategorize the construct of trauma as sexual assault, physical abuse, witnessing violence, partner violence, interpersonal trauma, childhood trauma, and complex trauma. Also, research studies define posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as outlined by the American Psychiatric Association. Some symptoms of PTSD include intrusive and recurrent experiences such as nightmares or flashbacks, intense experience of feelings associated with the event, feelings of detachment, avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, increased arousal, negative alterations in mood, and exaggerated startle response. If symptoms are left untreated, many survivors may experience depression, anxiety, problems with concentration, sleep difficulties, irritable behavior, angry outbursts, and difficulty establishing healthy and meaningful relationships. Fleeing a home country can cause prolonged psychological distress of marital and family relationships. In some cases, women's investment in family and community life has been detrimentally impacted, leaving them particularly vulnerable to the effects of the trauma because of the impact on women's gender roles in various countries. Women have at tendency to nurture others and maintain relationships. This dynamic ultimately contributes to attachment and attunement towards others. Attachment towards others is one of the social dynamics that is impacted when one experiences PTSD. These effects can be exceptionally detrimental for females who tend to thrive through creating and maintaining connections with others biologically. Unfortunately, refugee and asylum-seeking women face family displacement exacerbating symptoms of PTSD. Mental health services would benefit refugees, and asylum seekers as PTSD symptoms could worsen if left untreated. A study conducted on refugee and asylum-seeking women examined the effect of a group-based mental health program designed to alleviate posttraumatic stress for Bhutanese refugee women who recently resettled in the United States. Participants were placed into several groups to determine the efficacy of the program. Women were divided into three groups; two groups provided a version of the intervention, and one group served as a control. Results from pre, post, and follow-up assessments show that participants in both intervention groups experienced significantly less anxiety, depression, anxiety, somatization, and PTSD symptoms at posttest. Interestingly, mental health improvement amongst these participants continued at the 3-month follow-up. Contrastingly, control participants who did not receive the same type of treatment showed their mental health symptoms became more severe over time. Importantly, these results suggest that a group-based mental health program designed to address posttraumatic stress can yield positive outcomes on the mental health of recently relocated refugees. Furthermore, these results provide substantial evidence that without intervention, recently relocated refugees could potentially experience declines in mental health over time while resettling in their host country. More research on program efficacy is necessary to provide much-needed support for refugee and asylum-seeking women.


Nutrition

Malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
of refugee women manifests in a variety of ways both in refugee camps and in countries of asylum and resettlement. Issues of
food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...
, economic and political misunderstanding, and discrimination within refugee camps contribute to the poor nutrition and health of many refugee women. In a study of food aid in Rwandan refugee camps, experts found that international aid agencies' lack of consideration and attention to the political, economic, and cultural workings of countries in crises can lead to inadequate and inappropriate food aid, which in turn may result in malnutrition for refugees. Likewise, studies have shown that despite no legal distinction between male and female refugees, international refugee communities and even aid organizations tend to uphold discrimination based on gender. This translates into disproportionate malnutrition for refugee women through lack of priority in food distribution as well as medical attention for nutrition-related issues and lack of reproductive nutritional care. Issues of malnutrition persist in countries of asylum and resettlement for refugee women though mechanisms of
food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...
and lack of nutritional education. A study on Somali refugee women in 2013 found that rates of meat and egg intake were significantly higher in refugee women than comparable populations of host-country national women, while rates of fruit and vegetable intake were significantly lower. A related study of Cambodian refugee women found that common reasons for poor nutritional intake were living in food insecure, low-income areas, lack of economic means to purchase nutritious food, and lack of education about nutritious eating in their new country of residence.


Labor

Refugee women are often subjected to forced labor in refugee camps through the reinforcement of traditional
gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
s and stereotypes. Women in refugee camps are often the primary sources of physical labor for water collection and filtration, as well as small gardening and agricultural tasks and food preparation. Also as Despite their large roles in these areas, women are excluded from leadership on committees and planning parties within refugee camps and are relegated to strictly laborious roles. Meanwhile, male refugees are frequently seen in positions of influence and power within the camp and among international aid agencies. Refugee women in transitory camps are also frequently subjected to forced labor, encompassing both forced prostitution and forced physical labor. In addition to violating the legal rights of refugees, forced labor experienced by women in refugee camps has been found to be detrimental to their physical, mental, and social well-being. Often, women subjected to these and other forced labors are sought out on the basis of their race and stereotyped low position in society.


Education

In 2020, the enrolment rate of all primary-school-age refugee girls was only 67%, and only 31% for secondary-age girls. Some of the major barriers that girls face in areas like Syria and Lebanon include a high risk of SGBV (sexual and gender-based-violence), financial insecurity, discrimination in curriculum and professional positions, and opportunity costs of avoiding domestic responsibilities. Practical research on girls’ and women’s education is limited, but there is a lot of literature that identifies why emphasizing education for them is especially important. Investing in education helps with economic and labor force growth, lessens the rate of child marriage and domestic violence, empowers women, and gives them agency.


Sexual and gender-based violence

According to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, gender based violence in the context of assault against refugee women is "any act of violence that results in...physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women including threats. . . coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty." Assault on refugee women is both sexual and non-sexual, although instances of violence manifest most often in the form of
sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
for refugee women. According to a 2000 study, women are particularly vulnerable to
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and other forms of sexual assault in times of war and "disintegration of social structures" for a variety of reasons. These reasons include social unrest, the mingling of diverse cultures and values, prevalent power dynamics, and the vulnerability of women seeking refuge. Ways in which violence and sexual assault manifest themselves against refugee women include forced prostitution or coerced sex by international aid agency workers / volunteers,
forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appea ...
or coerced sex by fellow members of the refugee camp, forced prostitution or coerced sex by local community members, rape by any of the above demographics, exchange of sex for vital material goods or services, or an attempt to dishonor a woman, her husband, or her father. Sexual violence is considered a taboo subject in many cultures, and therefore gender-based violence often goes unreported as well. Even if women did seek to report violence, often there is nowhere within the refugee camp for them to turn. Refugee and asylum-seeking women face not only physical violence but also emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is described as any intentional conduct that seriously impairs another person's psychological integrity through coercion or threats. Examples of emotional abuse include isolation from others, confinement, financial control, verbal aggression, dismissiveness, threats, intimidation, control, denying the victim's abuse, and using guilt or shame as a form of control. A study conducted on female trauma survivors focused on mental health amongst asylum seekers found that amongst all types of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), 62% of the sample experienced some form of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is often overlooked as there are no physical indicators. In a study focused on the association between emotional abuse and awareness, researchers found survivors often develop cognitive strategies to cope with their environments. To add, survivors of emotional abuse may develop denial and dissociation habits to keep distressing thoughts from awareness and ultimately protect themselves. As a result, survivors keep the reality of their situation from consciousness and may not interpret their circumstances as emotional abuse and do not hold the identity of being abused. Contrastingly, some survivors experience many psychological effects, which further describe the complexities of emotional abuse. The asylum process caused many women to encounter humiliation, confinement, and emotional distress. Consequences of emotional-psychological distress were detected in two-thirds of participants. Respondents described being 'depressed,' 'a psychological wreck,' 'dispirited,' or 'very insecure.' Additionally, survivors became isolative and no longer trusted others. Others dealt with anxiety, shame, guilt, frustration, anger, and hatred. One respondent reported, "Hitting is better than talking. What he said hurt me more than getting slapped. Sometimes being hit is easier to cope with than psychological torture". This sad quote sheds light on how painful the reality is of those who suffer from physical and emotional abuse. Some risk factors associated with refugees and asylum seekers are identified as behavioral and interpersonal factors. Behavioral risk factors include drug and alcohol use, verbal and non-verbal attitudes, being alone on the streets at night, lack of self-defense skills, and not knowing how to speak the language of the host country. These types of behavioral risk factors caused women to have "no-self confidence," "feeling mentally-ill," and "not having a lot of brains." A quarter of the respondents believed being a woman was also a risk factor, leading them to vulnerable experiences. To add, respondents described intrapersonal risk factors as "having bad examples as friends and parents" and "not having anyone to turn to". Without a doubt, a combination of these risk factors causes many women to feel worthless and hopeless. Furthermore, outcomes of emotional abuse may affect individuals regarding their social networks and deprive them of opportunities for future personal, social, and economic development. Often, when asylum-seeking and refugee women reach out for help, they risk being separated from their children, being dishonored as a woman, or having dishonor brought to their families. The act of reaching out for help could potentially cause more risk to their livelihood. This dynamic makes it incredibly difficult for survivors of (SGBV) to seek support. More research is needed to address the complexities of help-seeking for refugees and asylum seekers. An estimate given by the UNCHR regarding the 2015 European refugee ‘crisis’ stated that approximately twenty-percent of the refugees entering the EU were women. Women made vulnerable due to their refugee status have reported border personnel tasked with overseeing their health and safety as perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). In response, institutions tasked with addressing SGBV such as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), have formally integrated gender sensitivity training to meet international and EU standards. These include the
1951 Refugee Convention The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individuals ...
, Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women, and the
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (S/RES/1325), on women, peace, and security, was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 1261 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), and 1314 (20 ...
. However, research on the issue conducted in 2016 by Jane Freedman amongst key actors such as refugees,
Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex (from French: ''Frontières extérieures'' for "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, exercising in coordination with the borde ...
(European Border and Coastguard officials), the UNCHR and human rights organizations have highlighted that the integration of gender specific anti-violence training has yielded poor results. Consequently, refugees entering the EU had voiced concerns of inaccessibility to basic shelter and services in camps with high population densities as a fundamental barrier to ensuring safety from SGBV. Refugee women also face increased exposure to violence on their journeys. This occurs most often at the hands of those facilitating their voyage, which Freedman refers to as ‘smugglers’. The legal nature of these incidents of violence renders reporting difficult and inaccessible. Moreover, the frequent changing of asylum routes due to border restrictions in the EU compounds refugee women’s exposure to violence by increasing the duration of their route.


Access to justice

It’s important to note that rape and sexual offences varies by definition of country; therefore, access to justice may vary. However, many pervasive figures of access to justice persists in:


Under-reporting of sexual violence against refugee women

Many refugee workers and officials may deny the existence of these issues because they are never reported. Refugee women may then be blamed for the violence against them.
Misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...
is a pervasive element to under-reporting due to ostracization of being sexually assaulted both in their own culture and communities, it may be deemed as “shameful” to report. Moreover, there is no language availability in order to report the violence and hinders their ability to voice their experience.


State legality problems

At times, refugee women do not hold legal documents proving they are legally in a country. Some families of refugee women might have placed the onus on the male “heads of households” holding their legal documents thus making them inaccessible. Without these documents, many refugee women lack access to legal services and resources as legal persons in their landed country. In addition, the legal sources for refugee women in and outside of their designated areas. without other non-governmental organizations, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council or other domestic law services available to them are not able to gain access to or seek legal counsel. There is also a lack of trust within their landed country's government, and therefore many refugee women do not feel safe disclosing this issue.


UN Conventions

The United Nations’ Human Rights Declaration and Refugee Women and International Protection No.39 (XXXVI) - 1985 are international legislations that protect refugee women, children and their rights. However, because these laws are internationally legislated they limit the scope of holding perpetrator(s) to account due to the centralized power of domestic justice systems where the ability to access justice and ratify international legislation lies with the state.


Humanitarian assistance

Numerous Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and
intergovernmental organization Globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of ...
s work to advocate on behalf of refugee women and children. In 1989, the first efforts towards gender specific aid for refugees was published in United Nations High Commission on Refugee manuals. The first initiatives of gender mainstreaming in refugee aid were developed in response to the refugee crises of Guatemala, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Rwanda. Since that time, the concept of
gender mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the implications for people of different genders of a planned policy action, including legislation and programmes. Mainstreaming offers a pluralistic approach that values the diversi ...
has gained traction in a variety of refugee aid initiatives, yet experts believe that there are gaps between the policies they outline and the experience of refugee women. Studies by Doreen Indra found that while there are many institutions providing humanitarian aid to refugee women, it may not reach its full potential due to a lack of refugee input in the programming and policies meant to provide them assistance. When refugee women are excluded from the development process of humanitarian assistance, it was found that policies are often made rooted in traditional gender assumptions, thereby reinforcing traditional and sometimes harmful gender roles in refugee camps. A review by Linda Cipriano revealed that another barrier in executing effective aid for refugee women is that women are disproportionately denied status as a refugee, which in turn acts as a barrier to receiving the assistance they need. Since its inception, the universal definition for a refugee as described by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
is a person with a “well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.” Under this definition, persecution on the basis of gender and sexual violence are not protected. Many countries abide by this strict language and deny women access to services of declared refugees on these grounds. The International Rescue Committee serves as an advocate for women to foreign governments to pass laws concerning the health and well-being of refugee women. They also educate men and boys to change the culture of violence towards women.International Rescue Committee. The IRC at a Glance.
Retrieved 14 November 2010.


See also

*
Refugee children Nearly half of all refugees are children, and almost one in three children living outside their country of birth is a refugee.Emily Garin, Jan Beise, Lucia Hug, and Danzhen You. 2016. “Uprooted: The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Childr ...


References

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Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
Women in war Women's rights