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New Big Men: Refugee Emasculation as a Human Security Issue
Abstract
Academics and policymakers have conducted a significant amount of research on the physical security and integrity of refugee populations, especially of refugee women and children. That on refugee women has focused on gender-based violence. This study expands on previous research by employing a human security approach to analyse not only the physical security and integrity of refugees, but also their socio-psychological well-being. Specifically, I argue that poor socio-psychological well-being actually explains the manifestations of violence against women in refugee camps. To make this argument, I document and explain the emasculation of Burundian refugee men living in Kanembwa camp in western Tanzania.
... 2021c). From Australia to France, working with different governments and UN agencies, more than 100,000 hosts on the Airbnb platform offered to open up their homes and have provided accommodation to over 75,000 refugees from these two crises, which answers to the security issues previously highlighted by Lukunka (2012). Complementing its CSR efforts with initiatives such as the Airbnb.org ...
... 2021b). From Australia to France, working with different governments and UN agencies, more than 100,000 hosts on the Airbnb platform offered to open up their homes and have provided accommodation to over 75,000 refugees from these two crises, which answers to the security issues previously highlighted by Lukunka (2012). Complementing its CSR efforts with initiatives such as the Airbnb.org ...
... Even though I don't know this area, I don't know the people, I feel 100% safe and I am happy here-Shaheen, an Afghan refugee in the U.S" ). This, for example, lessens the challenges of issues relating to mental health and security, as observed in the previous literature by Vonen et al. (2021) and Lukunka (2012). This redefinition of refugee resettlement through the CSR intervention of Airbnb aligns and corroborates with Teece et al.'s (1997) and Teece and Pisano's (2003) argument that a firm's dynamic capabilities are able to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments. ...
Humanitarian crises caused by war, natural disasters, famine, or disease outbreaks are growing globally and are persistent human tragedies threatening human health, safety, and well-being. Digital-platform-based ecosystems’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have become a vital tool to support humans during crises. However, little is known about the impact of the innovative CSR practices of digital-platform-based ecosystems during a crisis. Therefore, this study investigates this crucial question. Building on dynamic capabilities theory and using thematic analysis of 89 news articles and data from website sources and reports relating to Airbnb Inc.’s CSR innovation in the Afghan 2021 and the Russia–Ukraine 2022 humanitarian crises, we find that strategic digital-platform-based ecosystem-driven CSR interventions during crises can be helpful for society and for businesses. The results suggest Airbnb.org leveraged its resources and capabilities to provide innovative, quick, and timely responses to redefine refugee resettlement, promoting a platform to harness community partnerships, creating a robust collaboration model with international non-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, and initiating a novel financial inclusion strategy for refugees and displaced persons. This result also implies that CSR technological innovations during s crisis can be theoretically explained and have further significant implications for policymakers, companies, and societal stakeholders.
... For example, it is believed that successful integration of refugees could contribute positively to economic development, and it has been described as a win-win situation for the displaced persons and their host communities, as both stand a chance to benefit (Alonso 2017;Wihtol de Wenden 2017). However, several studies conducted in Africa have found that refugees and host communities compete over limited economic opportunities, and that the competition sometimes turns violent (Baez 2011;Loescher and Milner 2005;Lukunka 2012). For example, Milner (2014), Thomson (2012), and Ruiz and Vargas-Silva (2016) found that the Tanzanian government has been faced with domestic protests, which has affected its decision to naturalize refugees mainly from Burundi who have stayed in the country for more than four decades. ...
... Similarly, in Kenya, Mann (2002) reported that refugee children feared to disclose their identity or attend school because of intolerable behaviors toward them. Thirdly, some studies have reported that refugees resort to violence and illegal activities to survive (Im, Caudill, and Ferguson 2016;Lukunka 2012;Tippens 2017). All these studies were conducted in communities in countries that the refugees had fled to, far removed from the site of the terrorism. ...
... This development has sometimes turned violent, as host communities take up arms in their competition with refugees/IDPs for scarce resources (Datta 2017;Gordon 2016Gordon , 2017Klotz 2016;Ruiz and Vargas-Silva 2016;Thomson 2012). Besides, there is also evidence of displaced persons engaging in illegal activities to survive, such as robbery and other violent means of survival (Im, Caudill, and Ferguson 2016;Lukunka 2012;Tippens 2017). This is a wake-up call to governments and the international community to swiftly intervene in the Lake Chad region in order to avoid further escalation of violence and tension in host communities. ...
The Lake Chad region is an intersection of four countries, namely Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger, and has been a battleground of terrorism in recent years. While much is known about the devastating impact of the activities of Boko Haram, there is a dearth of empirical research on how individuals displaced by terrorism in the Lake Chad region have been integrated into new communities. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) regarding their integration into new communities in the Lake Chad region. The study adopted a qualitative design, that is, interviews and focus group discussions, to interact with participants from nine communities in Cameroon and Nigeria. Sixty-seven participants consisting of refugees, IDPs, host community leaders, and camp leaders were recruited to share their experiences. The study found similarities in the experiences of refugees and IDPs. Specifically, the study found that common identity (i.e. common culture and languages) enhanced social connection, safety, and integration of the refugees and IDPs into new communities. However, little has been done in terms of job creation, to enable refugees to have a source of livelihood, access to property, and essential services. The study has implications for policy-making in terms of governments in the Lake Chad region capitalizing on common identity and developing employable programs which will revitalize the economy of the region.
... Somit geht mein Beitrag über den Fokus auf weibliche Flüchtlinge in der Forschung hinaus und schließt an den Perspektivwechsel auf Männer und Maskulinitäten an (vgl. Turner 1999;Lukunka 2011;Jaji 2009;Kabachnik et al. 2013). Zur Untersuchung nutze ich eine empirische Fallstudie Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Uganda sowie das Konzept der Hegemonie von Männern von Jeff Hearn (2004Hearn ( , 2009. ...
... "UNHCR is a better husband" ist eine Aussage von Flüchtlingen, die Turner (1999, S. 2) zentral nutzt, um zu zeigen, dass die hegemoniale Position, die Männern vor der Flucht als Ernährer und Entscheider innehatten, durch die Organisationen bestritten wird. Damit einhergehend beschäftigt sich Lukunka (2011) in New Big Men ebenfalls mit burundischen Flüchtlingen in Tansania und erläutert, wie die humanitären Strukturen zur "Emasculation", also einer sozialen Entmännlichung führen. Dies rahmt sie als Problem der menschlichen Sicherheit, da das soziopsychologische Wohlergehen der Flüchtlinge in Lagern nicht gewährleistet ist und mit der Gewaltprävalenz zusammenhängt. ...
... Während Männer dabei vornehmlich als Sicherheitsgefahren dargestellt werden, beschäftigen sich einige wenige Studien mit den Wirkungen der restriktiven Lebensbedingungen in Flüchtlingslagern auf Männer und Maskulinitäten (vgl. Turner 1999;Lukunka 2011;Jaji 2009;Kabachnik et al. 2013). An letztere Beiträge schließt mein Artikel an. ...
Während Flucht und Flüchtlingssituationen als vergeschlechtlichte Prozesse gelten, liegt der Fokus vieler empirischer Studien in der Flüchtlingsforschung bislang auf den Bedingungen und Rollen von Frauen. In diesem Beitrag wird hingegen gefragt, wie Flüchtlingslager Männer und Maskulinitäten prägen. Mit Hilfe des Konzepts der Hegemonie von Männern von Jeff Hearn und einer Fallstudie in Uganda werden Auswirkungen der begrenzten Lebensbedingungen in Flüchtlingslagern auf Männer diskutiert. Dabei wird argumentiert, dass Flüchtlingslager soziale Zwischenwelten darstellen, die maßgeblich durch die humanitären Akteure geprägt werden. Obwohl Männer als die hegemonialen sozialen Kategorien angesehen werden, entstehen Spannungsgeflechte zwischen Rollenzuschreibung und faktischer Position im humanitären System. Zudem prägen die sozialen und hierarchischen Bedingungen in den Herkunftsregionen die Flüchtlinge mit ihren Geschlechtersystemen maßgeblich.
Hegemony of Men? Refugee Camps, Masculinities and Violence in Uganda
Although forced migration and refugee situations are understood to be gendered processes, most empirical studies in Refugee Research focus on how conditions impact on women and their gender roles. However, this article concentrates on how refugee camps affect men and masculinities. By means of the concept of Hegemony of Men by Jeff Hearn and a case study in Uganda, impacts of the restricted living conditions in a refugee camp are discussed with a focus on men. It is argued that refugee camps are social interim-worlds which are strongly shaped by the humanitarian actors. Although men are understood to be the hegemonic social categories, there are conflicting lines between ascribed hegemonic roles of men and their actual position in the humanitarian system. Moreover, the social and hierarchical conditions in the regions of origin of refugees impact on them with their understanding gender systems.
... In den vergangenen Jahren erfuhr die sexuelle und geschlechterbasierte Gewalt zunehmende Aufmerksamkeit in der Friedens-und Konfl iktforschung wie auch der Zwangsmigrations-und Flüchtlingsforschung. 6 Während aktuelle konfl iktbezogene Studien betonen, dass diese Form der Gewalt sozial und politisch konstruiert und nicht (ausschließlich) der Triebhaftigkeit geschuldet ist (Eifl er & Seifert 2009; Baaz & Stern 2013), heben Studien mit Flüchtlingsfokus hervor, dass Gewalthandlungen häufi g mit den prekären und restriktiven Lebensbedingungen in Lagern in Verbindung stehen (Lukunka 2011). Allerdings existieren die konfl ikt-und fl üchtlingsbezogenen Forschungsdiskurse vornehmlich unabhängig voneinander, obgleich bereits vor Jahren herausgestellt wurde, dass das Ende von Konfl ikten nicht auch das Ende von Gewalt bedeutet, und Gewalt eben auch in Postkonfl iktsituationen besteht (Cockburn 2004;Pankhurst 2008;Turshen u.a. ...
... Die Begrenztheit des Raumes und fehlende Entwicklungs-und Entfaltungsmöglichkeiten sowie die rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Limitierungen gelten in der Forschung als ausschlaggebende Faktoren für ein anhaltend hohes Gewaltniveau (Horn 2010; Crisp 2000) und würden v.a. bei Männern dazu führen, ihren hegemonialen gesellschaftlichen Stand auch gewaltsam zu verteidigen (Turner 1999;Lukunka 2011). ...
... (Flüchtlingsfrau, EED, 11. 3. 2014, Bukere Zone) In Gruppendiskussionen mit Frauen wurde deutlich, dass Partnerschaften trotz Gewalt und Unterdrückung häufi g aufrechterhalten werden, weil Männer einerseits einen gewissen Schutz vor Überfällen durch Fremde böten oder Frauen andererseits Angst vor zunehmender Gewalt und gesellschaftlicher Ausgrenzung im Fall einer Trennung hätten. Letzteres wurde auch hinsichtlich alleinstehender Frauen betont, die als Bedrohung für Frauen in Partnerschaften wahrgenommen wurden, weil sie "ihre" Männer als Partner gewinnen wollen (Flüchtlingsfrauen, FGD, 12. 3. 2014, Base Camp (Flüchtlingsmänner, FGD, 13. 3. 2014, Base Camp) Somit haben die externen Mechanismen z.T. ermächtigende Wirkungen für Frauen, wohingegen sich Männer unterminiert und sozial, politisch und wirtschaftlich "entmännlicht" fühlen, wie auch Barbra Lukunka (2011) EED, 18. 3. 2014, Base Camp;Religiöse Führer, FGD, 19. 3. 2014, Base Camp). Die Flüchtlingssiedlung ist somit als ein rechtlich nur ungenügend reglementierter bzw. ...
Abstract
The article discusses the questions how gender relations change in refugee camps and which role sexual and gender-based violence plays. The majority of refugees are displaced due to conflicts which is why refugee camps constitute post-conflict situations. Despite protection and assistance measures, such camps are criticized for prevailing restrictions and the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. In the article, the questions are analyzed based on empirical study in Uganda. After an analysis of the structures in the refugee settlement, forms and conditions of sexual and gender-based violence as well as the changing gender relations are explored. It is argued, that on the one hand diverse interdependent forms of sexual and gender-based violence as well as victims and perpetrator structures exist, and that on the other hand the violence is linked with the changing gender relations as well as traumatic experiences made in the refugee contexts, during conflict and flight.
Zusammenfassung
Der Beitrag geht den Fragen nach, wie sich Geschlechterbeziehungen in Flüchtlingslagern verändern, und welche Rolle die sexuelle und geschlechterbasierte Gewalt spielt. Die Mehrheit der Flüchtlinge weltweit flieht vor Konflikten, sodass Flüchtlingslager Postkonfliktsituationen darstellen, die trotz Hilfs- und Schutzmaßnahmen als restriktiv kritisiert werden und wo die sexuelle und geschlechterbasierte Gewalt anhält. In dem Beitrag wird den Fragen anhand einer empirischen Studie in Uganda nachgegangen. Nach einer Analyse der Strukturen in der Flüchtlingssiedlung werden die Formen und Bedingungen der sexuellen und geschlechterbasierten Gewalt in der Flüchtlingssiedlung sowie letztlich die veränderten Geschlechterbeziehungen untersucht. Es wird argumentiert, dass einerseits verschiedene interdependente Formen sexueller und geschlechterbasierter Gewalt sowie Opfer- und Täterstrukturen in der Flüchtlingssiedlung vorherrschen, und dass andererseits die Gewalt mit den veränderten Geschlechterbeziehungen und den traumatischen Erlebnissen im Flüchtlingskontext, Konflikt und auf der Flucht zusammenhängen.
... 2004;Onyut u.a. 2009;Lukunka 2011). Einige Analysen weisen auch auf einen ansteigenden Drogenund Alkoholmissbrauch und damit einhergehende steigende Aggressivität hin (Carlson 2005;Schäfer 2013;Barker & Ricardo 2005). ...
... Dies ist insofern ein Einschnitt, als in vielen Kulturen vor allem die Ernährerfunktion des Mannes die wichtigste Form der Anerkennung und des Respekts der Familie, im Besonderen der eigenen Ehefrau, darstellt (Dolan 2002: 60-67;Turner 2004: 94). Der wahrgenommene Statusverlust und die damit verbundene soziale Degradierung der Männer in Flüchtlingslagern werden in der Literatur als "Entmännlichung" bezeichnet (Lukunka 2011;Dolan 2009: 204;Barker & Ricardo 2005: 7, 29f). Simon Turner (1999) (Crisp 1999;Horn 2010;Carlson 2005) und ist im Unterschied zu Kriegszeiten für Außenstehende "unsichtbar" (Schäfer 2013: 66;Hans 2008: 64). ...
... Wie oben dargestellt, zeigen aktuelle Beiträge zur Friedens-und Konfl iktforschung und zur Flüchtlingsforschung, dass sich Geschlechterbeziehungen in Postkonfl iktkontexten, beispielsweise in Flüchtlingslagern, ändern. Die Studien argumentieren, dass Männer den Verlust ihrer traditionellen -hegemonialen -Rollen als Entscheidungsträger, Familienoberhäupter und Ernährer in der Nachkriegszeit mit einer empfundenen Entmännlichung verbinden, der sie unter anderem durch Gewalt an Frauen begegnen ( Schäfer 2010: 33;Lukunka 2011). Wie kann dies mithilfe des gegenwärtigen Standes der Genderforschung erklärt werden? ...
The article is in German.
Abstract: Sexual and Gender-based Violence against Women in Conflict-related Refugee Camps. A Literature Overview. Although sexual and gender-based violence against women in conflicts is not a new phenomenon, most studies have focused on conflict zones and neglected post-conflict contexts. But what happens geographically outside of conflicts and after violent hostilities? Researchers argue that the end of conflict does not represent the end of violence, instead emphasising a continuum of violence. This article aims to discuss this continuum through a look at the state of research on sexual and gender-based violence in post-conflict contexts, in particular conflict-related refugee camps. In search of safety, most refugees flee conflicts by crossing international borders where they are often settled in camps. Refugee camps therefore comprise specific post-conflict environments which are known for restrictive structures and insecure living conditions, both which impact gender relations. Through a review and discussion of relevant literature, the article takes a gender sensitive perspective to the notion of refuges and the experiences of living in refugee camps. The authors highlight the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence against women in such camps, and draw upon gender studies theories, particularly the concept of hegemonic masculinity, as a means to explain this phenomenon. By linking peace and conflict research with forced migration and gender studies, the authors strive to contribute to scientific approaches which reflect on the continuity of violence against women in post-conflict contexts.
... interventions have impacted refugee's gender identities, especially engendering "emasculation" (Turner, 1999;Lukunka, 2012) and how humanitarian actions are often designed upon gendered stereotypes (Turner, 2019a;Lubkemann, 2008). Various studies have discussed the homogeneous representation of refugee women as victims of violence and war, and the monolithic image of men as perpetrators of violence and conflicts (Engels, 2008;Harders & Clasen, 2011;Krause, 2014). ...
... Moreover, these actions ended up "emasculating" men, because their role as protectors was another component of masculinity. These findings are in line with other studies (Turner, 1999;Engels, 2008;Lukunka, 2012;Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, 2010) and ...
Diese Dissertation untersucht die Auswirkungen der Vertreibung auf die Geschlechterrollen und -beziehungen bei syrischen Flüchtlingsfamilien im Libanon und in Deutschland. Sie basiert auf einer achtzehnmonatigen ethnografischen Feldforschung, die zwischen 2017 und 2019 durchgeführt wurde. Die wichtigsten Fragestellungen, die diese Studie geleitet haben, sind wie folgt: Welche Art von Geschlechterrollen- und Beziehungstransformationen erleben syrische Familien im Libanon und in Deutschland? Wie verhandeln syrische Männer und Frauen Beziehungen in der Vertreibung neu? Können unterschiedliche Fluchtsituationen ähnliche Erfahrungen erzeugen? Es wird die These aufgestellt, dass syrische Familien aufgrund der besonderen rechtlichen und bürokratischen Bedingungen im Libanon und in Deutschland eine langwierig-vorübergehende Vertreibung erleben. Dieser Bereich wird als Liminalität konzipiert, einen nichtstrukturellen Kontext, der alternative Dimensionen der „Agency“ ermöglicht. Für jede Fallstudie werden vier Typologien von Transformationen in Geschlechterrollen und -beziehungen bestimmt und anschließend analysiert, wie syrische Männer und Frauen diese neu verhandelt haben. Abschließend werden beide Situationen des Flüchtlingsdaseins verglichen und vorgeschlagen, dass drei Dimensionen der Agency in diesem Schwellenbereich aufgedeckt werden können - eine iterative Dimension, in der die Agency in Richtung Vergangenheit positioniert ist; eine projektive Dimension, die die Agency auf die Zukunft ausrichtet und eine praktische Bewertungsdimension, in der situative Urteile unter konkreten Umständen in einen Kontext gesetzt werden. Diese Dissertation liefert drei Beiträge: Auf theoretischer Ebene verwendete sie die Agency als Linse zur Analyse der Geschlechterverhältnisse bei Zwangsmigration; auf methodischer Ebene verwendet sie eine relationale Perspektive, um verflochtene Beziehungszusammenstellungen zu untersuchen, und auf empirischer Ebene werden zwei Vertreibungssituationen vergleichend analysiert.
... Unlike national security, HS has the possible ability to advance gendered security dimensions and make audible the voices of those marginalized or most vulnerable, as well non-citizens. Only one article specifically refers to the human security of citizens [14], whereas several others refer to those affected by conflict and displacement [10,11,29]. ...
... When looking at all studies, we found that the majority of studies used gender to refer to and focus solely on women; thirty-four studies used gender to refer to both women and men, and only two studies focus on men. Both studies that focus on men and masculinity either do so in the context of displacement in Tanzania [29] or in Iraqi conflict [17] and its effect on perceived masculinity. ...
While many have argued for Human Security to integrate a gendered perspective, there is a lack of a consistent approach which hampers the transformative potential that otherwise could be achieved. To better understand how gender has been incorporated in relation to gender, we therefore conducted a systematic review of the literature that combined feminist approaches and Human Security from 1994 (Human Security's inception) to June 2018. In exploring this literature, the following questions were addressed: (a) How is criticism and support of Human Security framed in feminist research? (b) How are gender and feminist research (values) defined in relation to Human Security? (c) Which feminist approaches to Human Security are taken? (d) How do these feminist approaches dismiss or support Human Security and which trends emerge? We found that most studies solely focus on integrating women in the Human Security debate, while men, masculinities, and/or causes of structural inequalities and insecurities remain unaddressed. Studies that address structural inequalities and discuss both men and women come from critical feminist and intersectional backgrounds. We conclude that most gendered approaches to Human Security still need to fully incorporate feminist approaches to be able to truly challenge global gendered inequalities and insecurities.
... In Africa, studies have documented that refugees face resistance from their host communities. For example, most refugees from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), South Sudan, and Somalia are being discriminated against and maltreated in countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda (Baez, 2011;Lukunka, 2012;Milner, 2014). Particularly, it has been reported that locals in communities in especially Tanzania are against the settlement of refugees from Burundi and DR Congo, because they compete with the locals for limited economic opportunities (Alix-Garcia & Saah, 2010;Ruiz & Vargas-Silva, 2016;Thomson, 2012). ...
... Nevertheless, acceptance of refugees has been described as a vital resource to facilitate integration of refugees, so that they can overcome their problems while settling in new communities (Ager & Strang, 2008). The finding of this study regarding acceptance of refugees is inconsistent with previous studies, which have reported that refugees are usually not accepted in their new community (Baez, 2011;Lukunka, 2012;Milner, 2014). The fact that there are limited economic opportunities in the area may have reduced the tension that could have developed between the refugees and their host communities. ...
The Lake Chad region, which is an intersection of four countries,
namely Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, has been a major
battleground of violence and terrorism. Poverty is prevalent in the
region – a situation which it has been argued is one of the factors
accounting for the successful operation of Boko Haram. In the
midst of limited economic activity, it is important to understand
the psychological impact of the insurgency on the lives of
displaced persons who have resettled in new communities. Sixtyseven
refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) were
interviewed from nine communities in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Participants have been psychologically affected by loss of relatives
and property, and even by displacement from their homeland.
Also, limited economic opportunities in the region has manifested
in an inability of the people to have access to income generating
activities. The host communities have, however, provided support
to the participants by accepting them as equal members of the
society, and concerted efforts have been made to integrate them
into the community. The study has implications for policy-making,
in terms of governments and international partners exploring
ways to create economic opportunities, so as to advance the lives
of displaced persons in the region.
... In den vergangenen Jahren erfuhr die sexuelle und geschlechterbasierte Gewalt zunehmende Aufmerksamkeit in der Friedens-und Konfl iktforschung wie auch der Zwangsmigrations-und Flüchtlingsforschung. 6 Während aktuelle konfl iktbezogene Studien betonen, dass diese Form der Gewalt sozial und politisch konstruiert und nicht (ausschließlich) der Triebhaftigkeit geschuldet ist (Eifl er & Seifert 2009; Baaz & Stern 2013), heben Studien mit Flüchtlingsfokus hervor, dass Gewalthandlungen häufi g mit den prekären und restriktiven Lebensbedingungen in Lagern in Verbindung stehen (Lukunka 2011). Allerdings existieren die konfl ikt-und fl üchtlingsbezogenen Forschungsdiskurse vornehmlich unabhängig voneinander, obgleich bereits vor Jahren herausgestellt wurde, dass das Ende von Konfl ikten nicht auch das Ende von Gewalt bedeutet, und Gewalt eben auch in Postkonfl iktsituationen besteht (Cockburn 2004;Pankhurst 2008;Turshen u.a. ...
... Die Begrenztheit des Raumes und fehlende Entwicklungs-und Entfaltungsmöglichkeiten sowie die rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Limitierungen gelten in der Forschung als ausschlaggebende Faktoren für ein anhaltend hohes Gewaltniveau (Horn 2010; Crisp 2000) und würden v.a. bei Männern dazu führen, ihren hegemonialen gesellschaftlichen Stand auch gewaltsam zu verteidigen (Turner 1999;Lukunka 2011). ...
Between Protection and Shame? Conflict-induced Refugee Settlements,
Violence and Gender Relations.
Abstract
This article discusses how gender relations change in refugee camps and the role sexual and gender-based violence plays. The majority of refugees are displaced due to conflicts, making refugee camps post-conflict spaces. Despite protection and assistance measures, such camps are criticized for prevailing restrictions and the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. Based on an empirical study of a refugee camp in Uganda, this article explores and analyses the structures in the refugee settlement, the forms and conditions of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as changing gender relations. It is argued, on the one hand, that diverse interdependent forms of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as victims and perpetrator structuresexist, and, on the other hand, that the violence is linked with the changing gender relations as well as traumatic experiences made in the refugee contexts, during conflict and flight.
Keywords: Refugees, sexual and gender-based violence, gender relations, post-conflict
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Schlagwörter: Flüchtlinge, sexuelle und geschlechterbasierte Gewalt, Geschlechterbeziehungen, Postkonflikt
... Therefore, refugee aid mechanisms and programs are not assumed to merely satisfy basic needs, but rather to focus on strategic gender relations in order to support the process towards gender equality. While concentrating on refugees in developing countries, it is important to note that women mainly have lower social roles and less social power than men (Mulumba 2005: 175-182; Dolan 2002: 60-67; Lukunka 2011) which refers to the aim of gender-sensitive programs to empower women (Edward 2007: 44) and raises the question of this paper if (and how) women can become empowered in refugee camps and/or settlements. Research about the concept of women's empowerment in the context of humanitarian and development aid is not yet coherently defined. ...
... The Women's Refugee Commission recently published a study and highlighted that " [a]dolescent girls […] are concerned about a range of issues affecting their lives, including various forms of physical insecurity, barriers to education, limited peer and social support, poverty and overwork, and inability to meet their basic needs " (Women's Refugee Commission 2013: 1). Scholars agree on the different forms of sexual and gender-based violence including, among others, survival sex (Ferris 2007), domestic violence (Carlson 2005), rape (Lukunka 2011), forced marriage and forced prostitution (Edward 2007: 26-27). Male perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence are often; besides family members, perpetrators belong to security forces, aid workers, and community leaders. ...
This article analyzes the empowering impact that refugeeism can have on women, a largely neglected area of research. In the past, the academic discourse of refugees' identity reveals a clear trend towards homogenization, objectification, and victimization. Refugee women are still seen as disempowered passive victims. Considering that most refugees are caused in patriarchal societies in the global south, this article presents the idea that forced displacement can break patriarchal patterns because refugees renegotiate and redefine gender relations while in camps and settlements which could lead to women's empowerment. This argument is made after an extensive review of literature on refugee identity, differing camp and settlement structures, and the discourse about actions that can disempower or empower refugee women. In order to move beyond assumptions, this paper relies on concrete empirical research of national policy analyses and a field research case study of Rhino Camp settlement in Uganda. A review of this research will show how displacement can both challenge and reinforce traditional gender roles and will focus on the potential for empowering women in this context.
... Por ejemplo, para algunos hombres la pérdida de roles de género tradicionales (entre ellos, el de proveedores) en situaciones de desplazamiento y refugio afecta a la construcción de su masculinidad y, con ello, a su propia identidad como hombres. Esto, como señalan diferentes estudios (Lukunka, 2012;Ritchie, 2018), puede derivar en comportamientos disfuncionales, antisociales e incluso violentos contra ellos mismos (abuso de alcohol y drogas, suicidios) y contra otras personas (violencia intrafamiliar e intracomunitaria). ...
La identificación habitual del enfoque de género principalmente –y, a menudo, exclusivamente– con las mujeres restringe y dificulta una aproximación integral a la igualdad en la acción humanitaria. Para ampliar esa visión, con este trabajo propongo: por un lado, examinar críticamente cómo los hombres, también en el marco de la acción humanitaria, construimos y reproducimos el poder en nuestras relaciones con las mujeres, con otros hombres, con nosotros mismos y con la naturaleza; y, por otro, incorporar prácticas que favorezcan la transformación de
los hombres y de las masculinidades hacia la igualdad.
Para ello, desarrollaré aquí los siguientes contenidos: la problematización de la acción humanitaria en el escenario internacional actual; la construcción masculina de la acción humanitaria (en sus principios, bases normativas y estructuras principales); la consideración tardía y restrictiva del enfoque de género en este sector; las principales representaciones de los hombres y las masculinidades en la acción humanitaria y sus límites; la necesidad de colocar el poder masculino
y los privilegios de los hombres en el centro del análisis sobre las masculinidades; las resistencias que pueden surgir ante este análisis en la medida en que aspira a problematizar ese poder y esos privilegios; y algunos de los retos que dicho análisis plantea y a los que debe prestarse una atención especial en la acción humanitaria.
... Ever since, this tension has continued to exist vis-à-vis flight as men must bear the conflicting labels of cowards or security threats, resulting in a state of 'dangerous vulnerability' (Jaji 2021b). Hence the feminisation of vulnerability rendered men's security and suffering invisible; where humanitarian actors did acknowledge them, their masculinity was questioned and ridiculed (Jaji 2021a, Lukunka 2011, Olivius 2016. Women also became invisible; they were not portrayed as freedom fighters or terrorists in early political discourses but were simply ignored. ...
... Ongoing support and greater inclusion within the host community are in many ways synonymous with the greater safety and security that refugees seek. International systems designed to empower refugees ought to concentrate on physical and legal protections, including tangible aid and assistance packages, while attempting to address the sociopsychological aspects of people's lives (Almohamed & Vyas, 2016;Lukunka, 2012;Pittaway et al., 2009). ...
Displaced people from Afghanistan comprise the largest protracted refugee population in Asia and the second-largest refugee population in the world. For nearly 40 years, most Afghan refugees have been received in neighboring Iran and Pakistan. In Iran, they have been provided with such provisions as healthcare, education, housing, employment, food, visas, and continuing residence. However, many Afghan refugees face significant barriers in accessing services, particularly when it comes to undocumented persons. This study identifies the factors affecting homelessness among refugees, drawing on interviews with eight Afghan men. We explore a four key elements (4Es) construct for supporting the empowerment of refugee people in Iran through education, employment, economic, and emotional support. The study argues that the 4Es approach can alleviate homelessness among refugees.
... Männer tragen die beiden widersprüchlichen Labels von Feiglingen einerseits und Sicherheitsbedrohungen andererseits, was sie in einen Status der "gefährlichen Vulnerabilität" versetzt (Jaji 2021a, eigene Übersetzung). So machte die Feminisierung von Vulnerabilität Sicherheit und Leiden von Männern unsichtbar, und wenn humanitäre Akteur*innen dies anerkannten, wurde ihre Männlichkeit in Frage gestellt und lächerlich gemacht (Lukunka 2011;Jaji 2012;Olivius 2016). ...
Zusammenfassung
Obwohl das internationale Flüchtlingsrecht und der Flüchtlingsschutz vorgeben, für alle als Flüchtlinge kategorisierten Menschen weltweit zu gelten, ist deren Entstehung und Anwendung auf das Engste mit den geopolitischen Kämpfen der Großmächte verbunden. Infolgedessen sind unterschiedliche Konzeptualisierungen von Flüchtlingen entlang der globalen Nord-Süd-Linie entstanden. Der Beitrag interessiert sich für koloniales Othering im Kontext von Fluchtmigration und verknüpft analytisch drei Bereiche: das internationale Flüchtlingsrecht, die politischen Diskurse über Flüchtlingsschutz und die geschlechtsspezifischen Auswirkungen auf Flüchtlinge, insbesondere im postkolonialen Afrika. Wir zeigen, dass der ursprüngliche Fokus der Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention von 1951 auf Flüchtlinge in Europa zur strukturellen Vernachlässigung und zum Othering von Flüchtlingen beigetragen hat, die ‚anderswo‘ in der Welt situiert waren. Während und nach der Dekolonisierung in Afrika haben politische Diskurse über Schutz diese Dynamiken intensiviert; der Schwerpunkt lag nicht auf rechtlichem Asyl, sondern auf humanitärer Hilfe. Dadurch wurden die ‚anderen‘ Flüchtlinge als hilfsbedürftig, apolitisch und feminin dargestellt, was westliche Geschlechterdichotomien (re)produzierte.
... Stattdessen träten humanitäre Organisationen an die Stelle des ›Entscheidungsträgers‹, ›Versorgers‹ und ›Beschützers‹ (S. Turner 1999;Lukunka 2011;Grabska 2011;Krause 2015b). Diese Erklärungsansätze dürfen keinesfalls auf biologistische Vereinfachungen zurückgeführt werden, wodurch die Annahme entstehen könnte, alle geflüchteten Männer tendierten zu Gewalt und alle geflüchteten Frauen seien potentielle Opfer. ...
Die kollektive Unterbringung von Asylsuchenden ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil der flüchtlingspolitischen Verwaltungspraxis in Deutschland. Bei aller Varianz der Art solcher Sammelunterkünfte sind damit stets auch prinzipielle Herausforderungen verbunden. Denn mit einem zentralen Raum zum Umgang mit Flucht und Ankunft werden zugleich Gefahren und Konflikte örtlich konzentriert. Parallel zur Entwicklung von Konzepten zur Bewältigung dieser Herausforderungen untersuchen die Beiträger*innen des Bandes die Lebensrealitäten in diesen Einrichtungen.
... For example, forced migration often allows refugee women to seek further education and employment, which enhances their autonomy, self-confidence, and participation in household decision-making (Matsuoka & Sorensen, 1999). Some women also take on new knowledge from aid organisations regarding their rights and legislation that protects them from abuse and exploitation (Lukunka, 2011). ...
Drawing on qualitative research with resettled Syrian refugee families in Oxfordshire, UK, this article explores changes in gender roles and norms within these families. While issues related to the integration of refugees have been a central concern in policy discussions in the Global North, most research undertaken has been ‘gender-blind’, consequently making invisible the different experiences encountered by male and female refugees in the process of integration. Based on 60 semi-structured interviews with resettled Syrian families, 20 interviews with staff members from local NGOs and government agencies, and two focus group discussions with female refugees, we discovered that changes in gender roles and responsibilities often resulted in confusion, disputes, and tension between wives and husbands. By exploring these ‘private’ challenges, the article ultimately proposes a more holistic understanding of refugee integration, shedding more light on the socio-cultural dimension of integration—crucial knowledge for facilitating the smooth adjustment of refugees into a very different living environment.
... Denn bei der Frage nach Gewaltursachen gaben Flüchtlinge auch wirtschaftliche Motive wie den Verkauf begrenzter Ernteerträge an und kritisierten die ungleiche Ressourcenverteilung unter Frauen und Männern. In einem solchen Kontext kann die Bevorzugung von Frauen im Flüchtlingsschutz gepaart mit dem zuvor angesprochenen Statusverlust von Männern zu einem weiteren Anstieg von Gewalt beitragen (Lukunka 2011;Grabska 2011). Mit diesem Argument möchte ich einen Perspektivwechsel von vermeintlich bösen oder guten Flüchtlingen auf die humanitären Strukturen und Organisationen im Flüchtlingsschutz richten: Verhältnisse in Flüchtlingslagern sind eingebettet in hierarchische Entscheidungsprozesse der humanitären Organisationen, die -wie Michel Agier (2011: 196) es formuliert -als "humanitäre Regierungen" Macht über Leben entfalten und sich zu einem "Totalitarismus" entwickeln. ...
... Although the corpus of research is smaller, several scholars have also addressed genderspecific conditions of and violence against men in exile (among others , Turner 1999;Jaji 2009;Lukunka 2011;Kabachnik et al. 2013;Janmyr 2017). ...
Although refugee camps are set up to provide protective environments for refugees in host countries, refugees can still be confronted with various risks in such situations of encampment. In this chapter, the forms and scope of gender-based violence against women in camps are explored and their relation to camp conditions are assessed. Based on empirical research, mainly conducted with Congolese refugees in a camp in Uganda, the chapter reveals that sexual violence, domestic violence, and structural discrimination constitute the main forms prevalent in the camp. These occur despite humanitarian projects implemented to protect and assist refugees and especially women and, at times, even precisely because of the particular circumstances that exist in these settings. The limitations imposed by the camp and experienced within it, the hierarchical procedures, and the humanitarian focus placed on women can lead to frustration among refugees and directly or indirectly contribute to violence.
... Die Lebensbedingungen und humanitäre Schutz-und Machtstrukturen in Aufnahmeländern für geflüchtete Männer werden nur in wenigen Studien untersucht. Diese Forschungsarbeiten zeigen indes, dass Männer unter sozialen Veränderungen leiden und Opfer von (sexualisierter) Gewalt werden können (Dolan 2017;Jaji 2009;Lukunka 2011;Kabachnik et al. 2013;Krause 2016). Zu den frühen wissenschaftlichen Analysen in dem Feld zählt die Studie Angry Young Men von Simon Turner (1999), in der er die Rollenfindungsprozesse von jungen geflüchteten Männern in einem Flüchtlingslager in Tansania beleuchtet. ...
... Sie zeigen ein gewisses Maß an gesellschaftlicher Normalität und Strukturbildung und tragen dazu bei, dass Flüchtlinge nicht mehr nur als Opfer ihrer Lebensumstände, sondern als AkteurInnen betrachtet werden können. Oder wie Simon Turner es formuliert: »Life goes on in camps -albeit a life that is affected by the camp« (Turner 2016: 139 Zu Recht weisen sozialwissenschaftliche und psychologische Studien auf das Gewaltausmaß in Flüchtlingslagern (Lukunka 2011;Carlson 2005;Freedman 2015: 34-42) und auf den Zusammenhang von Gewalterlebnissen als traumatische Ereignisse sowie möglichen Traumafolgestörungen hin. Demnach leiden ca. ...
Weltweit fliehen jährlich Millionen Menschen vor gewaltsamen Konflikten und werden vor allem in Asylländern des Globalen Südens eingerichteten Flüchtlingslagern untergebracht. Dort werden sie vornehmlich als hilflose Opfer und passive EmpfängerInnen der Hilfsmaßnahmen angesehen. Dieser Beitrag nimmt einen Perspektivwechsel vor und versteht Flüchtlinge nicht als EmpfängerInnen, sondern als AkteurInnen. Ziel ist es zu untersuchen, welche Lebensbedingungen Flüchtlinge im Lager erfahren und wie sie diese bewältigen. Entsprechende Bewältigungsansätze stehen daher im Fokus dieses Beitrags. Anhand einer Fallstudie in Uganda wird argumentiert, dass Flüchtlinge mit strukturellen Einschränkungen, fehlenden Arbeitsmöglichkeiten, anhaltender Gewalt, unsicherer Zukunft und erniedrigender Behandlung im Flüchtlingslager konfrontiert sind. Gleichzeitig wird herausgestellt, dass sie vielfältige individuelle und soziale Handlungsstrategien zur Bewältigung dieser Umstände nutzen.
Abstract
Worldwide, many people flee from violent conflicts every year. Especially in asylum countries in the Global South they are mainly settled in refugee camps where they are often portrayed as helpless victims and passive beneficiaries of aid. My article switches the perspective from refugees as beneficiaries to agents. The aim of the article is to analyze the conditions in refugee camps and how refugees cope with them. Based on a case study in Uganda, it is argued that refugees are confronted with structural limita- tion, lack employment opportunities, continuous violence, unsecure future and harassing treatment in refugee camps. Despite all this, refugees are found to use diverse individual and social approaches to cope with these conditions.
... Gefahren und Bedingungen wie diese bestehen nicht nur in dem Flüchtlingslager in Uganda, sondern seit Jahren belegen vielfältige Studien bspw. in Tansania, Malawi, Indien, Libanon und Jordanien ähnliche Ergebnisse (Carlson 2005;Lukunka 2011;Turner 1999;UN Women 2013;UNHCR 2014c). Barbara Harrell-Bond wies bereits 1986 (S. 155 -159) u. a. auf Kidnapping, Zwangsarbeit, Vergewaltigung und Mord in Flüchtlingslagern hin, Elizabeth Ferris 1990 auf den Zusammenhang von Gewalt im Konflikt auf der Flucht und im Flüchtlingslager sowie Myriam Gellner 1989 auf die private Gewalt gegen Frauen und ihre Unsichtbarkeit in der internationalen Politik. ...
Hat das (völker-)rechtliche Flüchtlingskonstrukt ein Geschlecht? Welche Chancen und Gefahren können durch die Flucht für Frauen entstehen? Und werden Männer im Flüchtlingsschutz wie auch der Forschung ausreichend berücksichtigt? Diese Fragen stehen im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags, indem ein genderreflexiver Zugang zur Flüchtlingsdebatte aufgenommen wird. Es wird argumentiert, dass die Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention einem männlichen Paradigma unterlag und ‚der‘ Flüchtling in der Vergangenheit vornehmlich als Mann verstanden wurde. Seit den 1990er Jahren werden jedoch differenzierte Perspektiven aufgenommen und Frauen zunehmend berücksichtigt. Dennoch sind geflüchtete Frauen vielfältigen Gefahren ausgesetzt, wodurch sie im Flüchtlingsschutz als vulnerabel dargestellt werden. Dies führt zu einer Binarität von Opferfrauen und Tätermännern, die der Realität nicht gerecht wird.
... Although the contexts and dimensions differ, case studies from western countries with sizeable populations of immigrants, such as Australia, new Zealand and the united States (uS), increasingly raise serious questions about the viability of existing social policies and practices to address emerging concerns of settlement and integration (Hoogensen & Stuvoy, 2006;Hudson, 2005;lukunka, 2011). These questions are already emerging in the small but growing body of scholarship on new African populations in these countries. ...
There is a dearth of literature on new African immigrant populations in Canada, especially women from Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the sparse literature focuses on men?s experiences. We analyzed the sparse literature on African immigrant women in western host countries with a focus on previous and emerging trends in the discourse, gaps in literature, important areas for consideration in future research as well as potentially viable theoretically and methodological directions that scholars could follow. We also briefly shared the results of a set of focus group discussions with African women in Canada that followed our scoping review. The findings of our scoping review of literature, largely reinforced in the focus group discussions, underscore the need for more studies on Sub-Saharan African immigrant women?s experiences within and outside the family. Active community engagement as well as the mobilization of women's agency and cultural knowledge, resonate as crucial factors that enhance the transition and integration of Africans into Western host societies.
Testu honetan honako eduki hauek garatzen dira: gaur egungo nazioarteko ekintza humanitarioaren problematizazioa; ekintza humanitarioaren eraikuntza maskulinoa (bere printzipio, arau-oinarri eta egitura nagusietan); sektoreak genero-ikuspegia berandu eta modu mugatuan aintzat hartu izana; gizonen eta maskulinitateen irudikapen nagusiak ekintza humanitarioan eta horien mugak; botere maskulinoa eta gizonen pribilegioak maskulinitateen azterketaren muinean kokatu beharra; azterketa horren aurka ager daitezkeen erresistentziak, horrek gizonen boterea eta pribilegioak problematizatu nahi dituelako; eta azterketak aurkezten dituen zenbait erronka, ekintza humanitarioan arreta berezia eskatzen dutena.
Gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls is a pervasive phenomenon in the refugee camp of this article site. The tools of data collection that the researcher used were in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted by respecting the rule to prevent the spread of COVID-19, facilitating participants to use face masks and sanitizer. In the focus group discussion, 7 women participated. Additionally, in a separate focus group discussion, 7 male refugees participated, totaling 14 respondents for the FGDs. Moreover, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women and girls. The findings of this article identified four areas of violence against women and girls, such as physical, sexual, economic, and socio-cultural violence. This article also verified as women and girls are forced to marry against their will, affecting them psychologically, socially, and economically in refugee camps, and they are forced to marry the clan of their dead husbands, making them vulnerable to GBV.
Gender-based Violence against women and girls is a pervasive phenomenon in the refugee camp of this research site. The tools of data collection that the researcher used were in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, the focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted by respecting the rule to prevent the spread of (COVID-19). In this regard, the researcher facilitated the participants to use face masks and sanitizer. In the focus group discussion, 7 women participated. In addition to this, in a separate focus group discussion with 7 male refugees were participated a total number of FGD for this thesis is (14) respondents. Again in-depth interview was carried out totally with twelve (12) women, and girls. The findings of this research identified four areas of violence against women and girls such as violence committed in physical violence, sexual, economic, and socio-cultural factors. However, this research also indicated that women and girls are forced to marry without their interests which affects them psychologically, socially, and economically in refugee camps and they are forced to marry the clan of their dead husband which makes them vulnerable to GBV.
Drawing on personal narratives collected from Sub-Saharan African international protection holders and seekers in Sicily, this article aims to advance understanding of the gender-specific processes prompting young men to migrate toward Europe. Focusing on the diverse experiences of (or threat of) violence that prompted participants to migrate, I argue that masculinity can be seen as a mediating factor between the individual and structural levels, producing a set of structural vulnerabilities to male-on-male violence both in the public sphere and in private spaces like the familial context. Here, vulnerability should be understood as positionality, indicating participants’ placement within context-specific masculine hierarchies along the lines of age, migration status, and race. Accordingly, this article interprets the Central Mediterranean migration route as a highly masculinized migration arena, where the social reproduction of vulnerable male mobilities stemming from the hierarchical organization of masculinities is located on a continuum across different migration phases.
Refuge and reception processes are permeated by gender-specific and intersectional dynamics. The introduction explains the context as well as the conceptual considerations. We worked with regime-analytical approaches of recent social and cultural science constructivist migration research and asked about the production, processing and government of mobility movements as 'migration' and as 'flight' by actors from politics, media and academia. In doing so, the actors recur to specific gender knowledge and racialising knowledge.SchlüsselwörterGeschlecht
FluchtAsyl
Politiken der Aufnahme Geflüchteter
Intersektionalität
Differenzielle InklusionRassismus
Geschlechterwissen
DeutschlandMedien
UnterbringungGeschlechtsspezifische Gewalt
Gewaltschutz
Arbeitsmarkt
FamilieWohnen
Feminismus
KeywordsGender
Forced Migration
Asylum
Politics of Refugee Reception
Intersectionality
Differential inclusion
Racism
Gender knowledge
Germany
Media
Refugee Accommodation
Gender-Based Violence
Protection against violence
Labour market
Family
Housing and Home Making
Feminism
By drawing on qualitative interviews with Sub-Saharan African international protection holders/seekers, conducted in Sicily in 2016/2017, the article investigates how hierarchies of deservingness reactivated by the refugee ‘crisis’ discourse are reproduced in small communities where all-male refugee centres are located and what the effects of these are on day-to-day interactions between refugees and Sicilians in the locale. In particular, I argue that gender hierarchies reproduced by the refugee regime intersect with racist and patriarchal structures outside the centre, resulting in the placement of refugee men at the bottom of any hierarchy of deservingness in the locale. This frames specific ways in which all-male refugee centres are interpreted as enclaves of Othered masculinities due to their assumed bogusness. Thus, participants’ masculinity emerges as a key site for locally negotiating boundaries of inclusion/exclusion between black and white communities—both inside and outside the centre.
This paper explores how Burundian adolescents in the Nakivale refugee settlement, Uganda, experience umwidegemvyo, loosely translated as “freedom”, with regard to their sexuality. We draw on ethnographic research conducted between August and November 2017 with adolescents aged 13–19 years. Our research included in-depth individual interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. We present a context-sensitive appreciation of “freedom” and its social implications for adolescents’ sexual and love relationships. We show how adolescents attribute their sexual experiences and practices, including experimental sex, stress-relief sex and transactional sex, to the freedom experienced in the refugee context. Yet they also view this freedom with ambivalence: while some degree of freedom is desirable, too much is referred to in terms of kutitabwaho n’ababyeyi, loosely translated as “parental neglect”, implying a lack of parental involvement, care and provisioning.
Heyman presents a very ambitious tour de force of an essay on a complex multiplicity of violence, direct and structural, faced by migrants and residents also in the case of Mexicans. This chapter seems to be shaped by the reality ofthe wide range of violence (direct and indirect) trauma – after horror and suffering that the region and many people have faced. This is violent border, one many of the word, with open violence from Mexico and hidden violence from the US. By violence he implies: both direct physical violence, including mental health and so-called structural violence. The border is here also an import symbol in enacting xenophobia and the most violence engendering processes are enacted in this region. In El Paso, along with the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the border as field of contention between state agencies (U.S. and Mexican) and voluntary humanitarians, another important domain of violence and suffering continues in the same space: the repressive drug war and small arms trade into Mexico. Homicides, disappearances, kidnappings, extortion, and physical and sexual assault are directed at Mexican-side border populations and migrants at extraordinary levels. While the logic of violence largely spares settled populations in the United States (though migrants in passage remain vulnerable), the total field of social life in the region is extensively subject to violence and victimization. The migration debates are well-publicized but the worlds of violence at the border are largely unremarked and normalized.
Der Beitrag thematisiert die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer theoretischen Fundierung der Straffälligenhilfe anhand des Konzepts der Lebensbewältigung.
Critical feminist scholars of conflict and displacement have demonstrated that “womenandchildren” (Enloe 1993) have become an uncontroversial object of humanitarian concern in these contexts (Carpenter 2003; Hyndman and Giles 2011). Yet very little scholarly work has attempted to understand the position of refugee men as a demographic within humanitarianism. Through an analysis of the Syria refugee response in Jordan, this article investigates how humanitarian workers relate to refugee men and think about refugee masculinities. It argues that refugee men have an uncertain position as objects of humanitarian care. Seeing refugee men as objects of humanitarian care would disrupt prevailing humanitarian understandings of refugeehood as a feminized subject position and of gender work as work that “helps women” (Cornwall 2007; Johnson 2011). It would furthermore challenge prevailing binary visions of refugee men as agential, political actors, and refugee women as in need of “empowerment” through the implementation of technocratic programming. In the context of the Syria refugee response, these gendered and racialized understandings of refugee men and masculinities are mediated by particular conceptions of “Arabness.” This research is based on ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews with humanitarian workers and Syrian refugees, which was undertaken in Jordan in 2015–2016.
This articles questions some of the assumptions that implicitly lie behind many policy papers, reports and academic articles that are concerned with conflict, forced migration and sexual and gender based violence. It argues that despite the good intentions of wanting to combat such violence, many of these studies and reports rely on assumptions that conflict and displacement lead not only to societal breakdown but also to a breakdown of social and moral norms. Once these norms have broken down, it is assumed, subaltern, male sexualities are left untamed. The article argues that humanitarian discourse thus – despite its good intentions – reproduces orientalist and neo-colonial assumptions about violence and sexuality in the Global South. The article is based on a critical reading of policy reports and studies by refugee scholars and practitioners.
Camps play an important role in the international refugee regime alongside and as an alternative to asylum and repatriation. Established for the temporary custody and protection of refugees, protracted refugee situations camps come to function as permanent homes for refugees and internally displaced persons, that is, IDPs. Often refugee camps are militarised in the sense that fighters are recruited among the refugees by insurgents, which may even transform refugee camps into training camps and bases for rebel groups. In response, refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) camps are sometimes attacked as part of counter-insurgency campaigns. The chapter also deals with the phenomenon of ‘boat people,’ that is, refugees arriving by sea.
Much of the existing environmental security literature examines the causal linkages between environmental scarcity and violent conflict. Such research is clearly useful for exploring the causes of violence but less useful for exploring the causes of peace. This article adopts a theoretical approach to the environment-conflict nexus that considers a range of local variables that shape the ways in which actors socially construct resource use competition. The basic approach is to accept that any resource use competition can be constructed in ways that engender either cooperative solutions or unproductive forms of conflict, including violence. The local variables that shape actors’ constructions of conflicts are, therefore, viewed as the determinants of the kind of outcomes that result from a resource use conflict. This theoretical approach is developed with reference to environmental conflicts in areas hosting refugees. The variable of resource management regimes is explored in more detail, illustrated by a case study from an Ethiopian refugee camp. The article finds theoretical and empirical evidence to support the view that participatory and inclusive resource management regimes may enable communities to construct resource use conflicts in ways that help to prevent unproductive conflict. Such forms of governance can potentially be initiated in places where the state is failing to mitigate conflict through its own institutional resources. Thus, there may be an opportunity to respond to the ‘ingenuity gap’ that Homer-Dixon identifies as a key linkage between scarcity and conflict.
Among the consequences of war, the impact on the mental health of the civilian population is one of the most significant. Studies of the general population show a definite increase in the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders. Women are more affected than men. Other vulnerable groups are children, the elderly and the disabled. Prevalence rates are associated with the degree of trauma, and the availability of physical and emotional support. The use of cultural and religious coping strategies is frequent in developing countries.
Burundi has recently emerged from twelve years of devastating civil war. Its economy has been destroyed and hundreds and thousands of people have been killed. In this book, the voices of ordinary Burundians are heard for the first time.
Farmers, artisans, traders, mothers, soldiers and students talk about the past and the future, war and peace, their hopes for a better life and their relationships with each other and the state. Young men, in particular, often seen as the cause of violence and war, talk about the difficulties of living up to standards of masculinity in an impoverished and war-torn society.
Weaving a rich tapestry, Peter Uvin pitches the ideas and aspirations of people on the ground against the theory and assumptions often made by the international development and peace-building agencies and organisations. In doing this, he illuminates both shared goals and misunderstandings. This groundbreaking book on conflict and society in Africa will have profound repercussions for development across the world.
This chapter discusses the lives of Kurdish women living in Iraqi Kurdistan in the aftermath of the Gulf War of 1990–91. It explores the associations between political and gender violence, “honor” and nationalism, and war and honor killing and provides considerable insight into the complexity of oppression and resistance. Kurdish nationalists claim that Kurdish women enjoy more freedom than their Turkish or Arab and Persian sisters. Moreover, the chapter investigates the formation of a war zone, and the extension of Turkey's zone of genocide to Iraqi Kurdistan. Honor killing has economic, social, religious, political, and cultural implications. It has also survived the extensive transformations of Kurdish society, especially urbanization, in the latter part of the twentieth century. The war zone of Iraqi Kurdistan has unleashed the forces of patriarchal violence and has enhanced the forging of alliances between nationalism, religion, and tribal-feudal male power.
This article explains the need to improve research methods in studies of how Third World refugees cope with resettlement in the First World. Research on refugee adjustment (e. psychological and family dynamics) and adaptation (e.g., sociocultural-economic measures) indicates that these dependent variables are not unidimensional or homogeneous. Rather, adjustment and adaptation may have several components which each require unique sets of causal variables and contributory factors to be identified. Subjective aspects of adjustment and adaptation are important and can sometimes have opposite effects on objective measures of adjustment and adaptation. Conflicting findings in the literature suggest interaction effects among predictor variables, which are thus not ''independent'' variables.
Comments and suggestions welcomed. taylor@prio.no Human security is a new and contested concept. Although gaining legitimacy in many academic and policy communities, many argue that it has no single accepted definition, no universal foreign policy mandate and no consensus-commanding analytic framework for its measurement. For others this is of little concern, that 'human security' was the coalescing force behind the International Convention to Ban Landmines and the International Criminal Court is enough to prove that it is both representative of popular sentiment and legitimate as a tool of international policy making. With consideration to these differing views, an exercise in measurement is emerging that could substantially contribute to the shaping of the evolving concept There are six existing methodologies for measuring human security 2 . Each uses a different definition and each measures a different combination of threats. They all, however, are subject to the same paradox – that the broader the definition of included harms, the more difficult meaningful measurement becomes. Over the past year and half, I have developed a new methodology for measuring the broad UNDP conception of human security that addresses this problematic. It uses sub national data to map and spatially analyze regionally relevant human security threats. The methodology is introduced below and will be described in detail in an upcoming Liu Institute for Global Issues report.
The refugee, a victim of political events, a man uprooted from his homestead and country, finds himself in a strange land where he is homeless, often stateless, and poverty- stricken. The refugee in Hong Kong, for example, who faces this predicament can find his fellow exiles dispersed globally in such countries as The Republic of Korea, India, Syria, West Germany, and Finland. The dimensions of the refugee prob lem in the postwar era estimated to include at least forty mil lion persons are indeed frightening. Yet the enormity of the figure cannot describe the individual misery and human tragedy that have befallen these people. Moreover, neither the end of political upheavals nor the concomitant movement of peoples— the unabated dynamism of the refugee problem—are in sight. This situation demands global recognition. The United Na tions is concerned with the problem but has been able to give support and succor only on a limited basis. The neighboring nations, who have been obliged to bear the brunt of the imme diate crises, must not be left alone to alleviate the misery of these millions.—Ed.
Protracted refugee situations are a critical and growing element in continuing conflict and instability, especially in Africa. Such situations can result in direct security concerns, including the presence of armed elements within the refugee population and the spill-over of conflict across borders, and indirect security concerns, as tensions rise between local populations and refugees over the allocation of scarce resources. Somali refugees in Kenya and Burundian refugees in Tanzania constitute two of the most challenging protracted refugee situations in Africa. The overall response to protracted refugee situations remains fragmented, compartmentalised and ineffective. What is required is a new policy agenda that extends beyond conventional boundaries and seeks to integrate the resolution of chronic and recurring regional refugee problems with economic development and security issues.
Large-scale refugee movements clearly pose a threat to human, state, and societal security. Balancing the different levels of security threats is difficult. The case of the Afghan refugees is interesting, as (forced) migration was not linked to security until years after the initial displacement, and during a time when refugee numbers were not at their peak. Furthermore, countries with smaller numbers of refugees felt more threatened than those bearing the bulk. This article sets out to explore this interesting security puzzle, trying to answer the question whether the South Asian security dilemma can be linked to migration and displacement in the region, or other factors. The article concludes that a security-migration linkage seems to be based more on the duration than the size of displacement. Furthermore, policies by regional and international actors toward Afghan refugees contributed to the development of refugee warrior communities linked to state and international security concerns. Finally, power politics and geo-strategic as well as economic interests also contributed to the security dilemma. All these factors need to be considered in future refugee assistance in order to assume that human security is not sacrificed for that of states, and that the victims (refugees) are not the only ones held responsible.
This article examines the problem of insecurity in two refugee-populated areas of Kenya: Kakuma, in the north-west of the country, and Dadaab, in the north-east. It provides a typology of the security incidents which occur most commonly in these areas and examines the steps which UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations have taken to address the problem. Explaining why these measures have failed to reduce the high level of violence that takes place in and around the country's refugee camps, the article focuses on three related issues: the political economy of the Kenyan state; the manner in which the government and other actors have sought to manage the country's refugee situation; and the characteristics and circumstances of the refugees themselves.
Gender-based persecution is one way that immigrant women can seek political asylum and gain legal entry into the United States. Gender-based persecution includes harm such as female circumcision, rape, domestic violence, coercive family planning, honor killings, forced marriage, and repressive social norms. Legal scholars and immigrant advocates herald gender-based persecution laws and policies for advancing female asylum seekers' ability to gain asylum based on gendered harm. While gender-based persecution laws and policies offer optimism for women fleeing gendered harm, the implementation of these laws and policies may reproduce victimization for migrant women. A study of the implementation of gender-based persecution laws and policies makes visible assumptions about masculinity, femininity, sexuality, essentialism, women's agency, and authority that asylum seekers, immigration attorneys, service providers, immigration judges, and asylum officers engage. In this article, I find that protectionism and victimization, based on insecurity and fear, structure the legal institution of asylum.
Linda Bartolomei, Eileen Pittaway and Emma Elizabeth Pittaway examine the loss and ongoing denial of citizenship experienced by refugee women as one of the intersecting forms of oppression and discrimination they encounter that determines their identity. The case study used is that of Kakuma camp in the north of Kenya as part of a three-year project focusing on refugee women at risk. They focus on notions of citizenship and identity of refugee women, charting the range of oppressions experienced by refugee women in the Kakuma camp, and explore the manner in which these oppressions intersect to compound the risks of sexual- and gender-based violence.Development (2003) 46, 8793. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1110473
This paper explores the reasons why recent evaluations of the empowerment potential of credit programs for rural women in Bangladesh have arrived at very conflicting conclusions. Although these evaluations use somewhat different methodologies and have been carried out at different points of time, the paper argues that the primary source of the conflict lies in the very different understandings of intrahousehold power relations which these studies draw on. It supports this argument through a comparative analysis with the findings of a participatory evaluation of a rather different credit program in Bangladesh in which the impact of loans was evaluated by women loanees themselves.
Men appear to be missing from much gender and development policy, but many emerging critiques suggest the need to pay more attention to understanding men and masculinities, and to analysing the social relationships between men and women. This book considers the case for a focus on men in gender and development, which requires us to reconsider some of the theories and concepts which underlie policies. It includes arguments based on equality and social justice, the specific gendered vulnerabilities of men, the emergence of a crisis of masculinity and the need to include men in development as partners for strategic change.
In contrast to the unilateralism of States and UNHCR in bringing about change in the international refugee regime, this article proposes a dialogic model. The proposed dialogue is to take place on a continuous and institutionalized basis between States, the civil society and UNHCR, within UNHCR, and between concerned NGOs and governments. It is to be conducted on the basis of the principle of deliberative democracy which allow good arguments to prevail. It does not, however, rule out the idea of compromise but demands that compromise solutions advance common interests of the international community. It is believed that the dialogic process can halt the ongoing creeping expropriation of protection principles.
Since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the refugee regime has evolved with our modern state system, reflecting changes in international law, politics, economics and ideology. Responding to a history of religious and political persecutions, a comprehensive refugee regime finally emerged under the League of Nations after World War I. This regime underwent dramatic change during World War II to create a permanent framework to cope with the refugee problem through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The Cold War had an overwhelming influence on the norms and rules of this regime, and in the post‐Cold War era the regime has struggled to reflect and adapt to emerging global concerns — from internally displaced persons to gender and race distributional issues. As UNHCR is forced to reconsider its definitions, laws, and policies, the larger evolving regime must give way to a form of global governance in which the international authority of the UN body has more meaningful influence on the implementation of national law and policy.
Tanzania hosts large numbers of refugees (nearly 630,000 in April 2004 by Government count). It shares borders with Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda within the Great Lakes Region (GLR), a powder keg of forced displacement. Nearly three quarters of the 4.8 million ‘persons of concern to UNHCR’ found in Africa in 2003 are in the GLR. In examining the determinants and implications of the Refugees Act of 1998 of Tanzania, an opportunity is provided to gain an insight into how a pre-eminent country of asylum is responding to challenges of refugee protection and assistance. Secondly, is the possibility to assess the extent to which Tanzania has remained faithful to the ‘Open Door Policy’ for which the country earned international recognition through the Nansen Award in 1983. And lastly, how successfully has the legislation responded to the country's international obligations?
"The following study of Angolan refugees in Zambia examines the decision-making dynamics of refugee movements, documents a case of extensive self-settlement, describes the background to the refugee movement, and briefly compares the welfare of self-settling refugees and those who are in government schemes."
Comments by 21 Authors
- Hampson F.O.
Young men and the construction of masculinity in sub-Saharan Africa: implications for HIV/AIDS, conflict and violence World Bank Social Development Papers: Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Paper
- G C Baker
- Ricardo
Comments by 21 authors
- Acharya
Comments by 21 Authors
- Krause
The international refugee regime: stretched to the limit
- Loescher G.
Mending the broken vessel psychological well‐being and human security
- Nagara B.
Comments by 21 Authors
- Winslow
Who am I? Identity and citizenship in Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya
- Bartholomei
Assessing the opportunity for sexual violence against women and children in refugee camps
- Dugan J.
Comments by 21 Authors
- Leaning
Angry young men New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper
- S Turner
- United Nations Development Program
Human security: a refugee perspective Ministerial Meeting on Human Security Issues of the Lysoen Process Group of Governments
- S Ogata
security: concepts and implications with an application to post-intervention challenges in Afghanistan” Les Etudes du CERI Paris
- S Tadkbakhsh
Ricardo2005Young men and the construction of masculinity in sub-Saharan Africa: implications for HIV/AIDS conflict and violence” World Bank Social Development Papers: Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Paper26 World Bank
- G Baker
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