Refugee Men Research Articles

Uptake of HIV Testing Services among Refugee Men in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Camp, Mid-western Uganda

Aims: HIV testing is a critical checkpoint to late diagnosis and delayed treatment. However, utilization of HIV testing services has not yet reached the desired target, especially for men. This study aimed to determine the level of uptake of HIV testing services and the associated factors among refugee men in the Kiryandongo Refuge Settlement Camp. Study Design: Cross-sectional by mixed methods. Methodology: The study was conducted by mixed methods. A total of 422 men >18 years were selected using systematic random sampling. Interview administered semi-structured - questionnaires and informant interview guides were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Results: The level of uptake of HIV testing services was 32%. Key factors negatively associated with the testing included social-cultural status (P=0.006, AOR=3.80) disclosure of positive results and awareness (P=0.002, AOR=0.14 and P=0.000, AOD=0.08) respectively, unemployment (P=0.015, AOR=0.17), religion (P=0.043, AOD=0.37) and multiple sexual partners (P=0.033, AOR=0.23). Conclusion: The level of uptake of HIV testing services among refugee men in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement camp is significantly lower than the national mark. Targeted testing strategies and sensitization are critical to address the negatively associated factors and inform public health policies.

The Role and Functions of City Parks in the Adaptation Process of Refugees to the City: The Case of Ulubey Şehit Ömer Karaosmanoğlu Park

Today, migration mobility is experienced intensely all over the world. As refugees seek asylum in their countries of origin, the process of integration begins spontaneously, and urban parks, which are the most important part of the public space and provide the unity of the city dwellers, play an active role in this process. "How does the use of urban parks change with the unpredictable number of refugees all over the world and especially in Turkey and how does this situation find expression in Ankara?" is the starting point of the study, while "the fact that refugees are under difficult socio-cultural and economic conditions has led to the use of urban parks and negatively affected the use of parks by local people" is the hypothesis of the study. Within the scope of the study, Ulubey Şehit Ömer Karaosmanoğlu Park, located in Altındağ district of Ankara, which is one of the countries hosting the highest number of refugees in the world and has the highest Syrian population in Ankara, was selected as the sample area and the park usage tendencies of both refugees and local people, how they feel about using the park together and whether the park contributes to the adaptation process were examined through a face-to-face survey. According to the survey data; it has been determined that there is not a full harmonization between the refugees using Ulubey Şehit Ömer Karaosmanoğlu Park and the local people and refugee women have more difficulties in harmonization than refugee men. With this study, solution suggestions are presented to local governments at the point of planning and design of urban parks in countries hosting refugees.

Gendered Employment Precarity and Refugee Resettlement in the United States

ABSTRACT This article examines experiences of workplace precarity and employment vulnerability among resettled refugees in the United States. Our study, which draws on eight months of participant observation at a refugee resettlement agency and in-depth interviews with refugees, provides important insights into the ways that refugees navigate (un)employment after initial resettlement and the precarities they encounter while on the job. Our findings suggest that the confluence of specific workplace experiences, familial expectations, and resettlement case processing creates distinct vulnerabilities for refugee men and women. Moreover, we find gender to be especially crucial to both work-family pressures and negative workplace encounters, limiting men’s employment opportunities and undercutting women’s labor market potential. We discuss associated vulnerabilities and gendered pressures and conclude by highlighting avenues for future work.

Deservingness Perceptions Toward Refugees: A Gender Perspective

Refugee men are found to be less deserving of government support than refugee women. However, is this still the case if they engage in economic reciprocal behavior and attitudes? Following theories on gender stereotypes and benevolent sexism, we argue that economic activity is expected less of female than of male refugees and that this translates into gendered perceptions of deservingness of financial support. Analyzing data from a 2016 factorial survey experiment in Germany, we show that male refugees are more likely to get “punished” if unwilling to work. Future studies should thus include gender-related aspects when assessing deservingness perceptions.

Embodied Geopolitics: The Discursive Construction of Refugee Men and Masculinities in Turkey

ABSTRACT A new wave of displaced people from Afghanistan arriving in Turkey in August-September 2021 generated public debates about how the country would protect its borders while continuing to face the ‘problem’ posed by more than 3 million displaced Syrians. Much of these debates centred on refugee men and scrutinised their bodies and bodily acts to produce them as Other. This article analyses how the racialised and gendered depictions of refugee men in Turkey discursively produce geopolitical spatial hierarchies. Our analysis includes political leaders’ speeches, news articles, and opinion pieces published in mainstream media outlets and social media about displaced people from Syria and Afghanistan since 2016. We build on and contribute to feminist geopolitics and refugee studies by focusing on refugee men and masculinities, teasing out the contradictions in the geopolitical narratives centred on refugee men’s bodies, and analysing their implications for representing civilisational hierarchies. Using the concept of embodied geopolitics, we show how the dominant anti-refugee discourse in Turkey operates through a series of contradictory -but eventually complementary- geopolitical depictions of refugee men’s bodies, appearance, and behaviour that simultaneously masculinise and feminise them. These portrayals present refugee men either as fighters or cowards, as modern or backward. We argue that gendered and racialised refugee bodies animate geopolitical narratives and demonstrate that bodies are not simply territories with fixed meanings. Instead, they are constantly and simultaneously inscribed with multiple meanings that operate together and, ultimately, produce international hierarchies, ethnic boundaries, and the modern/backward dualism.

Sport policy and the integration of refugee backgrounded women

Introduction
 Sport is regularly used as a policy-led tool to facilitate outcomes aligned with resettlement and integration of refugees. However, the understanding of the role of sport in the resettlement of refugees is limited by a narrow focus on policy-led integration outcomes and player participation (Nunn et al., 2021). Moreover, refugee men prevail as the dominant participants, in not only sporting programs, but also within the research that informs the sport resettlement agenda (Ekholm et al., 2019). Therefore, the participation of refugee women in sport policy and programming is largely understood through refugee men's experiences, where the role of sport in resettlement and the daily lives of refugee women is less well understood. This research, guided by postcolonial feminism, examined how sport is deployed as a resettlement and integration policy tool for refugee backgrounded women living in Melbourne, Australia, and aimed to determine the relevance of sport in the lives of refugee backgrounded women.
 Methods
 Bacchi (2009) framework for policy analysis examined three government sport policies texts that represented refugee integration as a ‘problem’ to be managed through sport. Interviews with policy actors and sport program providers investigated practices and discourses underpinning refugee women’s inclusion in sport programming. Ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a 12-month period with a culturally diverse community football club, explored the role of sport in the lives of refugee backgrounded mothers and their children. Data was analysed using critical discourse analysis and thematic analysis.
 Results
 Factors at policy level, i.e. the tokenistic presence of women and girls in policy texts, and programming level, i.e. their inclusion into male dominated spaces shaped by neoliberal agendas, continue to resist refugee women’s participation in mainstream sport. Refugee women’s secondary presence in policy and programming was reinforced by temporary, sporadic and competitive funding opportunities that were heavily reliant on participation numbers and hegemonic masculinity, preserving the privilege of the status-quo. Integration in the policy texts was understood as belonging to the dominant Anglo-Australian culture, but belonging was contested, and the refugee mothers in this study understood belonging as being to their own cultures. Their sporting club was a space of belonging, stress relief, social connection, agency and cultural maintenance. The sport club was an important part of their lives as individuals, and was an important aspect of parenting and motherhood.
 Discussion/Conclusion
 Our study indicates that policy level and policy actors that promote the inclusion and integration of refugees through sport regularly marginalise refugee women and place them as tokenistic participants. Our findings suggest that ethno-specific, community driven sporting spaces are not oppositional, but play a complementary role in policy-led integration agendas. Sport can play an important role in resettlement among refugee backgrounded mothers and their families, where it offers a stable foundation from which other outcomes and benefits are able to facilitated. If sport has the capacity to facilitate positive social outcomes in line with settlement and integration, then greater efforts must be made to ensure women and girls are included and represented in the sport rhetoric (Ekholm et al., 2019).
 References
 Bacchi, C. (2009). Analysing Policy: What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson.
 Ekholm, D., Dahlstedt, M., & Rönnbäck, J. (2019). Problematizing the absent girl: Sport as a means of emancipation and social inclusion. Sport in Society, 22(6), 1043-1061. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2018.1505870
 Nunn, C., Spaaij, R., & Luguetti, C. (2021). Beyond integration: Football as a mobile, transnational sphere of belonging for refugee-background young people. Leisure Studies, 41(1), 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2021.1962393

Energy drinks and waterpipe smoking associated with disordered eating habits among male Palestinian refugees

This cross-sectional study highlights the concerning relationship between stimulants, alcohol use, and weight-related problems among Palestinian refugee men in the West Bank. Self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data on stimulants and alcohol use and eating attitudes and behaviors (EAT-26). The findings revealed that many refugee men were daily cigarette (61.4%) and waterpipe smokers (15.5%), while 30.6% and 2.3% were daily energy drink and alcohol users, respectively. Moreover, most refugee men (67.3%) were obese, and 23.5% were terrified about being obese. They had disordered eating habits, including the impulse to vomit after meals (63.3%). Moreover, 30.7% scored ≥20 using EAT-26 scale, and 44.4% scored at least one positive behavior, including binge eating (40.4%), purging (10.0%), using laxatives or diet pills (8.3%), excessive exercise (30.9%), and losing weight (24.6%). The results of the adjusted binary logistic regression indicated that risk factors associated with self-induced vomiting were daily (OR = 2.71, p-value = 0.004) and weekly energy drink intake (OR = 2.41, p-value = 0.023), weekly alcohol intake (OR = 10.83, p-value = 0.036), and obesity (OR = 2.57, p-value = 0.002), while inversely associated with weekly waterpipe smoking (OR = 0.297, p-value = 0.007). Obesity was inversely associated with daily (OR = 0.146, p-value < 0.01) and weekly waterpipe smoking (OR = 0.259, p-value = 0.002), and weekly cigarette smoking (OR = 0.251, p-value < 0.01). The study underscores the urgent need for community awareness, professional evaluation, and treatment for obesity and disordered eating habits among Palestinian refugee men. It is essential to address the detrimental effects of alcohol and energy drink intake and tobacco smoking to improve the health outcomes of this vulnerable population.

Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Among Refugee Men: Prevalence and Correlates With Associated Factors

This study examined the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and associated factors among male refugees within a refugee community. A sample of 441 Syrian refugee men from Al- Za'atari refugee camp and other cities was conveniently recruited, and data was collected in 2022 using the revised conflict tactics scale. The findings revealed that psychological IPV was the most prevalent form of abuse, while negotiation, injury, and physical IPV were rare. The age and education level of the men were related to the prevalence of negotiation, psychological victimization, and physical victimization committed by women. Certain demographic variables were found to predict the prevalence of psychological and physical victimization, injury, and the absence of negotiation. The study highlights the importance of recognizing that male refugees can be victims of IPV and emphasizes the need for supportive resources and assistance. Improving living conditions in refugee camps and providing employment opportunities are strongly recommended to address this issue.

Poetic desirability: refugee men’s border tactics against white desire

ABSTRACT This article explores how former refugee men position their desirability as they un-settle in European countries. The masculine performance of desirability is examined through the intersectional lens of racialization, affective bordering, sexualities, and erotic encounters. The paper builds on multi-sited ethnographies, conducted mainly in Greece and Germany between 2012 and 2022, centred around masculinities in border activist movements. During first encounters, the men in this study would position themselves as autonomous desirable beings. However, they quickly experienced dismissal or sexual objectifications. They were sexually desired as exotic but discarded as potential life partners, due to the lack of aspirational labour and uncertain legal status. Thus, their beings became depleted in the technologies of the white desire that exploits marked bodies. In affective response, they negotiated the terms of their recognition. Their tactics included shaming women’s choices, deflating local men’s hegemony, forming reciprocal contracts, and visioning love in the future. This pattern continued through men’s engagements across European borders and was repetitive. Therefore, I argue that they performed a ‘poetic desirability’ to position their masculine beings as equal and in resistance to the bordering violence of white (un)desire.

Determination of pre-pregnancy fear of childbirth levels in Turkish and Syrian refugee individuals with no children: A comparative study.

This study was conducted to determine pre-pregnancy fear of childbirth levels and related factors in Turkish and Syrian refugee individuals with no children. A cross-sectional-descriptive design was used. The study was carried out between September 29 and November 15, 2022 with Turkish and Syrian refugee women with no children who presented to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Polyclinic of a state hospital and their spouses. A total of 545 people, including the spouses of the women who wanted to participate, were included in the study. The data were collected by the researcher in the waiting room of the outpatient clinic by using the face-to-face interview method. A Personal Information Form and the Childbirth Fear-Prior to Pregnancy Scale were used to collect the research data. There was no statistically significant relationship between participants' culture and their age, education level, employment status, family type, income level, and birth preferences (p>0.05), and the groups were independent and homogeneous in terms of the specified characteristics. It was determined that Syrian refugee women had a significantly higher total score on the Childbirth Fear-Prior to Pregnancy Scale than Turkish women. Also, the score of Syrian refugee men on the same scale was significantly higher than that of Turkish men. A statistically significant difference was found between the total scores of the Turkish and Syrian participants according to age, education level, and preferred mode of birth. In the current study, it was determined that both genders and cultures had a fear of childbirth, although it was more common in women and Syrian refugees. According to the findings of the study, culture, gender, age, education level, and preferred mode of birth were factors related to childbirth fear prior to pregnancy.

Breaking the Silence: Understanding the Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence on Refugee Men, with Depression as a Key Outcome

ABSTRACT The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the association between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and symptoms of depression among a sample of married refugee men. The study recruited a convenient sample of 539 married Syrian refugee men residing in refugee camps and other locations in Jordan between 2021-2022. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed. IPV and symptoms of depression among the participants were assessed by the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) and the Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. The findings of the study revealed a moderate prevalence of depression among the refugee men, with the most experienced types of IPV being the absence of negotiation with partners, psychological violence, physical violence, and injury. Significant positive correlations were observed between all types of IPV and symptoms of depression. It was determined that approximately 80% of the variation in symptoms of depression could be explained by the combination of the four types of IPV. Psychological violence was the strongest predictor for symptoms of depression followed by the absence of negotiation between partners and the occurrence of injury. Offering recommendations for interventions would aid in the development of effective strategies and support systems aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of IPV on the mental well-being of married refugee men.

PHOTOESSAY: Refugee migration: Turning the lens on middle Australia.

This non-traditional research paper explores the role of photojournalism and documentary photography in shifting the power dynamic inherent in photographing refugee migrants in Australia—the refugee as an object of photographic scrutiny. It draws on visual politics literature which argues refugees have been subjected to a particular ‘gaze’, where their migration narratives are mediated, mediatised, dissected and weaponised against them in the name of journalistic public accountability in and for the Global North. This photo-documentary praxis project subverts this ‘gaze’ of the Global North and decolonises the power dynamics of the visual politics of refugee migration by turning the lens on middle Australia. Instead of questioning refugees, this project asks what is our moral responsibility to support them? These images are drawn from three years of photographically documenting the Meanjin (Brisbane) community that rallied around and eventually triggered the release of about 120 medevaced refugee men locked up in an urban motel in Brisbane for more than a year in 2020-21. In these images taken outside the detention centre, community members go ‘on the record’ to articulate their motivations for taking a stand—an enduring Fourth Estate record of their social and political stance as active participants within the mediated democratic process of holding power accountable in the refugee migration space. The refugees central to this project have now been released into the community but as they continue to languish in an immigration purgatory, the project is ongoing and continues to manifest through an activist journalism framework, drawing on human rights-based photojournalism practice.

Obesity in Refugees post-resettlement in a high-income country: a meta-analysis.

Refugees have a high prevalence of obesity post resettlement, but few studies have compared their risk of obesity to those of the host population. We systematically investigated the association between refugee status and obesity after resettlement in a high-income nation. We searched PubMed, Embase, OpenGrey and bibliographies of retrieved articles, with no date, location, and language restrictions, for observational studies assessing obesity rates in resettled refugees compared to the host population. Nine studies were analyzed. We found no evidence of increased risk of obesity among refugees compared to the host population, with significant heterogeneity across studies. However, the risk of obesity among refugee men were significantly lower than the host population. The heterogeneity between studies calls for more high-quality research to examine the risk of obesity among refugees compared to the host population in high-income countries. This will enable results to be pooled to provide more decisive evidence about obesity trends among refugees post migration in a high-income nation.

A qualitative study of refugee men's mental health in non-metropolitan Manitoba

In bringing together literature on masculinity, refugee mental health experiences, and rural and non-metropolitan settings, we identify a gap surrounding the mental health experiences of refugee men in non-metropolitan places, and in non-metropolitan Canada specifically. In this article, we explore how refugee men in non-metropolitan Canada understood mental health; what they perceive to be the most significant barriers to good mental health; and the perceived access to and quality of support services. This collaborative qualitative study of refugee men's mental health was based in Brandon, Manitoba, and involved focus groups with a total of 29 participants, conducted in three different languages. Participants were from various countries in East Africa and the Middle East and ranged in age from 18 to 61 years old. Participants revealed diverse understandings of mental health related to cultural and religious/spiritual teachings as well as stressors that were embedded in their non-metropolitan community and their transnational journeys and relationships. Participants also indicated that both local stressors (e.g., employment/unemployment problems, challenges making a life/future) and distant stressors (e.g., concern for the safety of family in the participants’ home countries, the separation of family participants due to migration, logistical difficulties in communicating with loved ones outside of Canada, and grief over war and conflict in participants’ countries of origin) significantly impacted their mental health. We conclude that a holistic approach to health supports, including mental, physical, and spiritual wellness is important for refugee men in rural/non-metropolitan areas. These findings can inform policies, programs and funding of initiatives supporting newcomers and refugees to rural and non-metropolitan areas and contributes meaningfully to the refugee dispersion debate in Canada.

Syrian refugee men in ‘double waithood’: ethnographic perspectives on labour and marriage in Jordan’s border towns

This paper discusses the socio-economic integration and marriage prospects of young Syrian refugee men in Jordan. Linguistic, cultural and religious similarities with Syrian culture in Jordanian border towns such as Ramtha and Irbid hold the promise of social inclusion and offer emotional comfort. Yet, this familiarity is combined with experiences of social alienation and labour exploitation. Based on qualitative research and ethnography, I propose the notion of ‘double waithood’ to capture the two main socio-economic axes that structure opportunities and the activities young men engage in. Apart from the time spent waiting for regulated residency status, young men wait to fulfil the economic requirements that enable them to marry and have a family of their own. While waiting for certainty, many are driven to informal and underage labour to help provide for their families. At the same time, migration as a rite of passage can enable young adolescents to transition to adulthood earlier, as many aspire to fulfil the criteria of the hegemonic figure of the economically self-sufficient male refugee.

Revolutionary Refugee Policy: Salvadorans and Statecraft in Sandinista Nicaragua (1979–1990)

AbstractDuring the 1980s, more than 20,000 Salvadorans fleeing the violence of the Salvadoran Civil War entered the neighboring country of Nicaragua. Their flight was part of a larger multidirectional migration out of El Salvador in which Salvadorans sought refuge across Central and North America. In response to this unprecedented influx of Salvadoran refugee men, women, and children, the Nicaraguan government—newly under the control of the revolutionary Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)—declared that all refugees would be permitted “the opportunity to survive and produce.” This article argues that the timing of the refugees’ arrival proved mutually beneficial for both the Salvadorans and the FSLN by illustrating how Sandinista officials sought to further agrarian reform projects via refugee integration into agricultural cooperatives. As such, Nicaraguan refugee policy functioned as an integral part of Sandinista statecraft. Through an analysis of refugee-produced sources, government and UNHCR documents, and news reports, this article sheds new light on the entwined histories of Salvadoran refugees and the Sandinista state in the transnational context of the late Cold War period in Central America.

Ambiguous loss of home: Syrian refugees and the process of losing and remaking home

This constructivist-interpretive study examines social-relational dimensions of change and loss following experiences of political terror, war and forced migration from the perspective of Syrian refugee men and women who were presently living in Jordan (n=31). A process model derived from the analysis theorizes four dimensions of ambiguous loss (safety and security, social connections and identities, connection to place, and dreams and imagined future) and to capture the cyclical process of losing and remaking a sense of home in displacement. Our findings underscore a more complex set of processes that remain outside the array of supports and services provided by many current practices and policies with displaced populations generally, and Syrian refugees specifically. Thus, the findings highlight the need for ecological, integrative policies, interventions and services that support refugees’ attempts to remake the multifaceted and stable phenomenon that is home as they transition into new communities.

Gender roles among Syrian refugees in resettlement contexts: Revisiting empowerment of refugee women and needs of refugee men

This study focuses on the impact of resettlement contexts on gender roles among Syrian refugees in Turkey and the United States. Four semi-structured group interviews (N = 25) were conducted to understand how Syrian refugee women and men recast gender roles in their new environments, find new ways to adapt, and exercise agency. Gender roles are rearranged in culturally meaningful ways that do not necessarily follow commonly-held assumptions regarding the process of empowerment, particularly the view that paid employment is the major path to agency and freedom from oppression for refugee women. Findings emphasize the roles of local policies, resources, and supports in shaping gender dynamics and suggest that contextual factors, culturally attained gender roles, and lived experiences must be recognized to develop gender-sensitive interventions for Syrians. The findings also support interventions that are inclusive of men, especially young single men, and those that maximize social opportunities and eliminate discrimination.

Estimating the potential of spices for mineral provision in a refugee context in East Africa

Micronutrient deficiency remains an enormous problem in refugee settings. Transforming refugees’ food systems through the scaling up of kitchen gardening and fortifying relief food crops with minor food components including nutrient-dense spices can help improve the quality of staple foods. Globally, spices are indispensable in the daily diet and play an important role in the socio-cultural setting of different communities. Forty turmeric and curry powder samples were collected from different market establishments and geographic locations in East Africa. The samples were analyzed for selected elements using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF). The contents of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn) and strontium (Sr) in turmeric powder were statistically different among geographic origins (Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda). We also aimed to determine if a small portion of spices (turmeric (5 g) and curry (4 g)) would contribute to an adequate intake (AI) or recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for selected minerals, for refugee men and women aged between 19 and 50 years as defined by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). For the reference groups, the contributions of turmeric and curry powder to AI/RDA for K, Ca and Zn varied between 0.48 to 4.13%. On the other hand, turmeric was identified to contribute > 20% AI/RDA for refugee men and women aged between 19 and 50 years for two micro minerals: manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). Considering turmeric and curry powder of East African origins are good sources of minerals and present acceptable toxic metal(loid)s loads coupled with low cost, these spices particularly turmeric should be more widely popularized and recommended for food-to-spice fortification among the refugee population located in East Africa.

The labor market integration of Syrian refugees in Turkey

Although Turkey hosts the largest population of refugees globally, we know little about their labor-market outcomes at the national level. This study uses the 2018 round of the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, which includes a representative sample of Syrian refugees for the first time, to examine refugee labor-market integration. The findings show a much smaller native–refugee gap in men’s employment in Turkey (favoring natives) than that reported for most developed countries. Moreover, the employment rate for refugee men peaks quite early, one year after arrival, and remains at the same level. By contrast, the employment rate for refugee women is initially lower and does not change much over time. Once demographic and educational differences are accounted for, the native–refugee gap in men’s (women’s) paid employment falls to 4.7 (4.0) percentage points (pp). These small gaps conceal the fact that formal-employment rates are much lower among refugees. Even when covariate differences are accounted for, the formal-employment rate for refugee men is 58 pp lower than the rate for native men. In addition, the smallest native–refugee employment gaps are in manufacturing for men and agriculture for women. The gap is also much smaller in wage employment than in self-employment or unpaid family work. Finally, significant heterogeneity exists across refugee groups. The native–refugee employment gap is wider for older and more-educated groups. Once covariates are accounted for, the gap in men’s employment vanishes for refugees whose mother tongue is Turkish but persists for refugees whose mother tongue is Arabic or Kurdish.