Abstract
Violence against women (VAW) is a hidden aspect of humanitarian emergencies, especially during conflicts, and prevalence estimates remain scarce. An adequate response to VAW in humanitarian contexts requires information regarding the extent of the problem and associated factors, including the role of past violence. This study is a questionnaire survey of a random sample of 452 Syrian refugee women resettled in Sweden. Findings show that the prevalence of any violence preflight and during flight was 25.1% and 7.8%, respectively. Older women and women exposed to violence preflight were more likely to experience violence during flight. Findings suggest the need for more trauma-informed systems of handling asylum seekers and refugees, as a humanitarian principle. Other implications for research and practice are discussed.
Highlights
Despite international humanitarian law, which protects women and children, and the responsibility of humanitarian agencies to prevent and report abuse in humanitarian settings, violence against women (VAW) remains a significant problem due to lack of systematic surveillance (Department for International Development [DFID], 2013; International Committee of the Red Cross, 1988; United Nations, 2003)
Nonresponse analysis showed that refugee women with a lower level of education (≤9 years) and those in Sweden since 2011 were less likely to participate in the study than women with more education and those who arrived in Sweden after 2011, respectively
When the nonresponse weights were applied to the sample, the distribution of all included sociodemographic factors corresponded closely to the sociodemographic profile observed in the sample frame
Summary
Despite international humanitarian law, which protects women and children, and the responsibility of humanitarian agencies to prevent and report abuse in humanitarian settings, violence against women (VAW) remains a significant problem due to lack of systematic surveillance (Department for International Development [DFID], 2013; International Committee of the Red Cross, 1988; United Nations, 2003). The social-ecological model describes VAW risk factors at four levels, that is, the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels (Heise, 1998; Krug et al, 2002). Factors at the societal levels include norms and others, which create an enabling environment for VAW (Heise, 1998; Krug et al, 2002). Societal-level factors for VAW, such as preexisting discrimination and violations of the rights of women and girls, become exacerbated, resulting in, for example, forced marriage, torture, killings, and sexual violence, including rape as a weapon of war (Baaz & Stern, 2009; Manjoo & McRaith, 2011; Office of the High Commissioner United Nations Human Rights, 2020)
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