Refugee Men Research Articles

Renegotiating Roles as Fathers and Workers: Exploring the Experiences of Migrant and Refugee Men in Australia

Migrants represent a significant and growing proportion of Australia’s population. While there has been a surge of academic literature about the experiences of migrant women, and families more generally, less attention has been given to migrant men and their roles as fathers. As fathers have a significant impact upon their children and families’ wellbeing, it is important to understand the factors influencing their wellbeing and caregiving practices within their family units. To better understand the factors contributing to migrant men’s fathering experiences and wellbeing, the authors undertook semi-structured, in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion with 10 migrant and refugee fathers living in Darwin, Australia. We define migrant fathers as those who were born outside of Australia and had children. This exploratory study aims to explore the challenges the fathers faced securing stable employment, providing caregiving, and renegotiating their identities as fathers and workers in a new country and culture. The findings demonstrate that demographic characteristics (such as education and language), structural constraints (such as access to childcare and flexible work), and cultural expectations (such as being the breadwinner and provider) defined the way many of the fathers experienced and rationalised their role as workers and fathers. These findings confirm the importance of employment in promoting and sustaining migrant and refugee men’s wellbeing as they resettle with their families. We offer a preliminary sketch for policy makers and service providers to support migrant and refugee men’s roles and identities as fathers and workers in Australia.

Shifting the Center: Relocating Refugee Men in Strategies Aiming to Address Violence Against Women.

This article aims to problematize individualistic strategies developed in western institutions to address violence against women and suggests more collective responses that engage refugee men. The data comes from a qualitative research project in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Thirty-one interviews with frontline workers from domestic violence and refugee settlement organizations reveal dissenting voices that challenge the hegemony of dominant groups who either advocate gender equality or overemphasize cultural differences. These dissenting voices suggest new knowledge being mobilized by refugees and associated communities, presenting opportunities for nongovernmental organizations and community groups to find ways to align across their differences toward a common goal.

Alfred Schütz Revisited: Social Exclusion of Refugees in Brandenburg

For refugees, the transition from their home to the host society is especially challenging. In particular, their situation shortly after arrival entails the risk of social exclusion. Based on two case stud­ies, this article reconstructs experiences of exclusion within the integration processes of Cameroonian refugee men and unaccompanied minors in the region of Brandenburg, Germany. What connects the studies are the existential threats of being forced to wait due to having an unclear future and a pattern of being unable to refer to (positive) lived experiences in the local environment. The article approaches these dynamics by applying Alfred Schütz as a helpful analytical heuristic to the findings. The possibil­ities and pitfalls of the deployed Schützean framework are highlighted considering current methodolog­ical developments in the field.

The impact of trauma, flight and protracted displacement on the mental health of Eritrean refugees living in Israel: An exploratory study of coping strategies

Multiple studies have found that refugees significantly underutilize mental health services. Yet, little is known about how refugees who live in contexts of protracted displacement cope with and recover from violence, trauma and chronic stress. The unique experiences of refugees living in Israel, particularly those fleeing the violence of Eritrea, is even less understood. This study sought to explore strategies of coping used by Eritrean refugee men and women living in Israel. In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 Eritrean refugees aged 26–40 having been identified as suffering or having suffered from psychological distress. Participants reported experiencing severe violence and upheaval in Eritrea, during flight, and struggled with daily life in Israel. Reported coping strategies were rooted and shaped by the Eritrean cultural context, systems of knowledge, values, and cultural perspectives. They included concealment, silence and forgetting, engaging in religious and spiritual practices, seeking social support, and, for some, accessing formal health and psycho-social services. Our findings underscore the profound effects of protracted displacement, with participants noting the anxiety, stress, uncertainty, and inability to build their lives brought forth by their liminal status. Findings also reveal the ways in which structural considerations in Israel, particularly law and policies, negatively impact upon the daily lives of Eritrean refugees, contributing to their ongoing distress. Taken together, these elements may deplete refugees’ coping resources and undermine their natural processes of recovery and healing. Our findings justify the need to re-think traditional models of trauma and recovery, integrate spirituality and cultural healing into interventions, consider how structural realities impact daily experience, and account for refugees' unique perspectives on distress within the care process.

Economic Empowerment of Refugee Women in Ghana and its Influence on Household Decision Making

This study looked at the economic empowerment of refugee women in the Ampain and Egyeikrom camps and how this influence household decision making. Specifically, the study was concerned with refugee women in camps who have been economically empowered and live in male-headed households. At the same time, these male heads have not been economically empowered and hence have no stable source of income. A case study design was used to conduct the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 104 refugee women. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Focus group discussion guide was used to gather data from spouses of selected refugee women. Data was analyzed and presented in descriptive statistics and verbatim quotations. The results revealed that refugee women have been economically empowered and are mostly the breadwinners in their households. However, economic empowerment has not been reflected in their contributions to household decision making. Refugee men continue to have autocratic powers in household decision making. On the other hand, refugee women are pleased to allow men to hold on to this role in exchange for the companionship and security they require as refugees in another country. Refugee men who are angered by their spouse’s new role as the breadwinner use their decision-making authority to bring these women into submission. The paper recommends that refugee women's economic empowerment include components that allow refugee men to be empowered alongside women. Additionally, refugee men should be sensitized on the benefit of the women’s economic empowerment to the family and the society, as well as the need for women to equally participate in household decision making to enrich the outcomes and as an issue for promoting women’s welfare and human right in the household.

Syrian Men’s Disability and Their Masculine Trajectories in the Context of Displacement in Jordan and Turkey

AbstractThis article analyzes the relationship between men’s physical disability and the trajectories of negotiating masculinities in the context of Syrian refugee displacement in Jordan and Turkey. The article draws its analysis from the personal narratives of five displaced Syrian refugee men who sustained injuries during the war in Syria. It explores how Syrian refugee men with disabilities remake their masculine bodies and selves to create a new version of masculinity that responds to the changes in their socioeconomic circumstances and bodies. The article argues that the disabled Syrian refugee men went through multiple and contradictory masculine trajectories that intersect with multiple identities and different types of disability. Disabled Syrian refugee men’s emergent masculine embodiments created a version of masculinity that, although it adhered to the patriarchal family values of connectivity and intimacy, does not in its practice legitimate domination within the family and in the Syrian refugee community.

Normalising power and engaged narrative methodology: refugee women, the forgotten category in the public discourse

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the discourse of othering of non-Western migrants has been growing in many European societies. And since 2015, refugees have become a quite visible component in this discourse. Although, for decades, the dominant image of refugees has been constructed as people ‘at risk’, new competing images of refugee men ‘as risk’ have recently gained ground. For refugee women, however, the image of being victims and ‘at risk’ still prevails. This shows a strong underlying gendered logic of feminine vulnerability and masculine threat. In this article, I show how these images are situated within the dominant Dutch discourse of migration with taken-for-granted taxonomies of the self and the other. Specific in this normalised discourse for refugee women is that their agency is either ignored or their possible position as activists is not acknowledged to exist. Using examples from two studies in which my research team engaged with the method of narrative engaged research, I show the importance of this particular narrative method in unsettling the normalising power of othering. The theoretical argument of this article engages with ongoing discussions on power and agency. It argues that, when the power of exclusion works through repetition and is manifested in the daily normalisation of actions, agency needs to provide an alternative in the same fluid manner. Narratives in dialogue provide an illuminating angle for discussing this specific kind of agency, as I will show through some examples from research.

Negotiating Refugee Deservingness at Europe’s Southern Frontier: Masculinity and Race in Sicilian Asylum Centres

AbstractBy 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.

What do women want? Migrant and refugee women’s preferences for the delivery of sexual and reproductive healthcare and information

ABSTRACT Objective Migrant and refugee women experience inequities in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, reflected in the low uptake of SRH services. It is essential for healthcare providers and educators to be aware of women’s preferences for SRH information and service delivery, to provide culturally responsive care. Identifying migrant and refugee women’s preferences for SRH information and service delivery is the objective of this study. Design This study investigated this issue, in communities of migrant and refugee women living in Australia and Canada. Eighty-four individual interviews and 16 focus groups comprising 85 participants were conducted (total n = 169), with migrant and refugee women aged 18 years and over from Afghanistan, India (Punjab), Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri-Lanka (Tamil), Sudan and various South American (Latina) backgrounds. Nine individual interviews were also undertaken with community interviewers, who were migrant or refugee women themselves. Results Thematic analyses identified that migrant and refugee women are enthusiastic to learn about SRH across the lifespan, using a variety of modalities including group education delivered by community leaders; online and written material; and information provided by general practitioners. Participants emphasised the need for empathetic SRH care, which encompassed longer times for consultations, being seen as experts of their own bodies, privacy and healthcare provided by women practitioners. Greater engagement with migrant and refugee men was positioned as an additional solution to addressing SRH concerns of women. Conclusion Insights from this study can help facilitate the co-design and evaluation of acceptable and sustainable programs to address inequities in SRH experienced by migrant and refugee women.

Between Crisis and Opportunity: Eritrean Refugee Men in Israel Negotiating Masculinity

The complex intersection of migration and masculinity is a growing field of study. This research explores how married Eritrean refugee men in Israel negotiated masculinity-related challenges within the context of gender relations. A constructivist notion of masculinity informed an interpretive analysis of in-depths interviews with the Eritrean men. It depicted the men’s experiences of a loss of power within gender relations as a “crisis” of masculinity. We explore the intersecting contexts of migration, gender, and culture surrounding these masculinity experiences, as well as the impact of state power that is enacted upon the men via their legal status of “permanent temporariness” and in gendered encounters with state authorities. Finally, we describe and discuss three main strategies the men employed to negotiate masculinity in their relationships with women within these complex circumstances: ruling, migration as an opportunity, and temporary acceptance.

Challenges and lessons learned in mental health research among refugees: a community-based study in Turkey

BackgroundTurkey hosts nearly four million refugees and 99% live in urban areas. Research in urban settings pose different challenges and opportunities than research in refugee camps. In this article, we aimed to share the challenges and experiences we encountered in a mixed-methods study to assess mental health problems and barriers to accessing mental health care among refugees in urban areas of Turkey.DiscussionIn our case, the main challenges in conducting research with refugees were collecting data from a highly traumatized population, difficulties with contacting undocumented asylum seekers including trust issues and the fear of deportation, the risk of secondary traumatization among data collectors, and the bureaucracy during study approval processes. Targeting a representative sample was not feasible, because of the lack of publicly available demographic data on a district level, presence of undocumented asylum seekers and high mobility among the refugees. Although respondents with significant psychological symptoms were routinely referred to available mental health services, we were able to do less for unregistered refugees with problems in accessing health care. Language/alphabet differences and differing dialects of Arabic posed another challenge in both translation and administration of the scales. Based on cultural characteristics, a gender-balanced team was used and the interviewers were gender-matched whenever needed. Also, the research team had to work after work hours and during weekends to be able to interview male refugees, since most refugee men were at work during working hours and most days of the week.ConclusionsThe research team’s experience showed that refugee population characteristics including level of trauma, language, culture, gender, legal status, and urban setting characteristics including places of living, mobility, availability of publicly available demographic data, and outreach-related barriers lead to different challenges and ethical responsibilities of researchers and affect the research costs in terms of time, human resources and finance. Even in a host country with geographical, religious and cultural proximity to the refugees, profound challenges exist in conducting mental health research in urban settings. Learning from previous experience and collaborating with local researchers and institutions are vital for better public health research and practice outcomes.

Health outcomes in young adulthood among former child refugees in Denmark, Norway and Sweden: A cross-country comparative study.

This study aimed at comparing several health outcomes in young adulthood among child refugees who settled in the different immigration and integration policy contexts of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The study population included refugees born between 1972 and 1997 who immigrated before the age of 18 and settled in the three Nordic countries during 1986-2005. This population was followed up in national registers during 2006-2015 at ages 18-43 years and was compared with native-born majority populations in the same birth cohorts using sex-stratified and age-adjusted regression analyses. Refugee men in Denmark stood out with a consistent pattern of higher risks for mortality, disability/illness pension, psychiatric care and substance misuse relative to native-born majority Danish men, with risk estimates being higher than comparable estimates observed among refugee men in Norway and Sweden. Refugee men in Sweden and Norway also demonstrated increased risks relative to native-born majority population men for inpatient psychiatric care, and in Sweden also for disability/illness pension. With the exception of increased risk for psychotic disorders, outcomes among refugee women were largely similar to or better than those of native-born majority women in all countries. The observed cross-country differences in health indicators among refugees, and the poorer health outcomes of refugee men in Denmark in particular, may be understood in terms of marked differences in Nordic integration policies. However, female refugees in all three countries had better relative health outcomes than refugee men did, suggesting possible sex differentials that warrant further investigation.

Perspectives on a psychiatric outpatient service for immigrants and refugees in São Paulo, Brazil over a 15-year period.

Immigrants and refugees have specific mental health needs. Studies of immigrant/refugee psychiatric patients in Latin America are scarce. Present the profile of patients from an outpatient psychiatric service in Sao Paulo (Brazil) to better inform mental health service planning for immigrants and refugees in the Global South. Exploratory study to characterize the sociodemographic and mental health profile of refugees and immigrants attending outpatient psychiatric service from 2003 to 2018. Chi-square tests and logistic regressions were used to examine the association of demographic variables, exposure to violence, and immigrant status with psychiatric diagnosis. Cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups within the sample. A total of 162 immigrants and refugees referred to the service obtained treatment. Of these patients, 57.4% were men, 59.8% were refugees/asylum seekers, 51.9% were Black, 48.8% were single, 64.2% had 10 years of education, and 57.4% were unemployed; the mean age of the sample was 35.9. Half of the sample (52.5%) was exposed to violence. The most common diagnosis was depression (54.2%), followed by PTSD (16.6%). Approximately 34% of the participants sought psychiatric care within 6 months of arrival. Logistic regressions showed that men had lower odds of presenting with depression (OR = 0.34). Patients with PTSD were more likely to be refugees (OR = 3.9) and not have a university degree (OR = 3.1).In the cluster analysis, a cluster of patients with PTSD included almost all Black refugee men exposed to violence. Most patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders were also Black refugee men. Immigrants and refugees represent a vulnerable group. The majority of the sample was Black, refugee men, who were also more likely to present with PTSD. Future studies are needed to better understand issues in treatment adherence in relation to socioeconomic characteristics.

Addressing the Disparity in Refugee Mental Health Services: a Pilot Study of a Traumatic Stress Intervention Utilizing a Language-Free mHealth Application

After resettlement, an overwhelming number of refugees struggle with chronic traumatic stress (CTS), the persistence of traumatic events (e.g., re-experiencing past trauma; news of on-going war) coupled with daily post-migration stressors (e.g., poverty, lack of transportation). CTS significantly increases the burden of mental health challenges experienced by refugees. Evidence-based mental health treatments often rely on worksheets, mobile applications, websites, or telephone calls to facilitate the management of distress outside of treatment sessions. Language barriers prevent these strategies from being incorporated into mental health treatment for refugees, which results in a significant disparity in care. Treatments delivered via mobile devices can address this barrier through the use of intuitive images that eliminate the need for text or language-based instruction. A 6-week pilot study assessing the effectiveness of group intervention utilizing a language free, culturally relevant mobile health (mHealth) application was conducted in a sample of Somali-Bantu and Nepali-Bhutanese adult refugee men and women (N = 18). Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare pre- and post-intervention levels of psychosocial distress, anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress, on the Refugee Health Screener (RHS-15) and an investigator generated coping measure. Results indicated significant reduction (p < .001) in symptoms related to traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints in addition to a significant increase (p < .001) in the use of coping skills. The use of a mobile mental health app, in combination with in-person therapy, was effective in reducing mental health symptomology and in increasing the use of coping skills in Somali-Bantu and Nepali-Bhutanese refugees.

‘Refugees welcome’, including in (gay) porn: violence under the mask of liberation

ABSTRACT In 2017, the porn film Refugee’s Welcome was released, directed by Canadian pornographer Bruce LaBruce. Using the ‘Refugees Welcome’ slogan popularized in Germany following the arrival of a growing number of refugees, LaBruce individualizes the narrative through the fictional story of Moonif, a young gay Syrian refugee who explores his sexuality upon arrival in Berlin. Indeed, a broader porn genre has emerged involving the depiction of refugees. In this article, I argue that Refugee’s Welcome perpetuates the trope of queer refugees having a sexual awakening upon migration, whereby the West is positioned as liberating refugees from the alleged homophobic Global South. Not only does this trope allow the film to directly focus on saviourism, but the queer refugee becomes imagined as inherently vulnerable by contrasting them to the imagined hypermasculinity of heterosexual Arab refugee men. This article thus explores the obscenity of demanding queer refugees only becoming intelligible through narratives of liberation.

No One Smiles at Me: The Double Displacement of Iranian Migrant Men as Refugees Who Use Drugs in Australia

Drawing on relevant sociological and feminist theories namely a social constructivist and intersectional framework, this article explores ways in which migrant Iranian men as ‘refugees’ ‘who use drugs’ navigate the complex terrain of ‘double displacement’ in the Australian contemporary context. It presents findings from a series of community based participatory and culturally responsive focus groups and in-depth interviews of twenty-seven participants in Sydney, Australia. Results highlight the ways in which social categories of gender, language, class, ethnicity, race, migration status and their relationship to intersubjective hierarchies and exclusion in Australia circumnavigate and intervene with participants’ alcohol and other drugs’ (AOD) use and related harms. The article argues that there is a need to pay greater attention to the implications of masculinities, power relations and the resultant material, social and affective emotional impacts of displacement for refugee men within Australian health care responses.

Waiting for kin: a longitudinal study of family reunification and refugee mental health in Germany

ABSTRACT Involuntarily or planned – many refugees flee their home country alone, leave behind spouses and children but also siblings, parents and other family members they otherwise care for. Reunification in hosting communities is difficult, as governments limit institutional family reunifications and the individual journey of kin is dangerous and often illegal. Having family abroad is mentally distressing for refugees, as kin might not live in safety. Additionally, reuniting with family members can be a source of support in the new environment. Grounded in theories of mental distress and social support, this analysis investigates the association between family reunifications and refugee mental health in a random sample of refugees in Germany (N = 6610), the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees 2016–2018. By means of panel fixed-effect regression analysis, we observe institutionally sponsored but also individual moves of other family members. The study finds that family reunification has a positive association with refugee mental health, though not at an equally increasing rate for each additional member of the family. Gender differences show in the size of association, yet significant heterogeneous associations between refugee men and women cannot be observed. Finally, the associations are larger when only observing reunifications with the nuclear family.

Charting a Course to Rebuild and Strengthen the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP): Findings and Recommendations from the Center for Migration Studies Refugee Resettlement Survey: 2020

Charting a Course to Rebuild and Strengthen the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP): Findings and Recommendations from the Center for Migration Studies Refugee Resettlement Survey: 2020

How American Attitudes about Race, Ethnicity, and Gender affect the Health and Wellbeing of Black-African Refugee Men in the United States

More than half of all refugees currently resettled in the United States are racial-ethnic-minority men. Yet refugee health scholarship has not fully explored racial ethnic minority refugee men’s encounters with resettlement environment norms about race, ethnicity and gender. This paper describes an intersectionalinformed qualitative study of the daily stressors experienced by Black-African refugee men in the United States to explain how such experiences impact their health and wellbeing. These men’s life narratives illuminate how stigma and discrimination associated with race, ethnicity, gender affect their health and wellbeing during resettlement. These findings offer evidence that the realities of ethnic minority refugee men in the United States, while unique, can contribute to broader discourses about minority men’s health inequities.

Divorce and Domestic Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Germany.

In recent literature, there are no academic studies on divorce and domestic violence among Syrian refugees in Germany. To contribute to filling this gap, the current study addresses the question: What are the main causes of divorce and domestic violence among Syrian refugees in Germany, and how are these two phenomena interrelated? The present study is based on 14 qualitative interviews with divorced Syrian refugee men and women in Germany, all of them are Muslim with different economic backgrounds from urban and rural areas in Syria and got divorced shortly after their arrival to Germany. The data were analyzed and coded following Mayring's guidelines for content analysis. The findings suggest that domestic violence results from conflicts of interest in marriage and divorce between Syrian refugee men and women. The present study uses the economic theory of marriage and divorce by Cary Becker to show how Syrian refugee women's "gains" of divorce in Germany exceed the "gains" of remaining married and how that leads them to divorce their husbands. In contrast, divorce is a heavy loss for Syrian refugee men. In addition, it shows how this conflict of interest results in domestic violence, by which the men resist their wives' eagerness to divorce and interpret the marital relationship according to Sharia law and Arabic traditions in order to keep their old patriarchal authority. However, this interpretation is inapplicable and criminalized by the German family legislation, and unwanted by their wives. The findings, through the example of Syrian refugees in Germany, imply that the causes of divorce and domestic violence among refugees in some regards are unique in comparison with natives and migrants. That means that we need more studies on this topic in different socio-cultural contexts.