Resettlement Contexts Research Articles

REFUGEE MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALING: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF POLICIES OF RAPID ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MEANINGFUL WORK.

Although refugees who are accepted for resettlement in a third country are guaranteed certain rights and experience safety from war and persecution, they face many mental health challenges. Using qualitative methods and constructivist grounded theory, we explored culturally-specific perspectives on trauma and recovery among Burundian, Congolese and Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States. Eighteen semi-structured interviews provided extensive data on the meaning of productivity and work, the ways in which they index normalcy and self-sufficiency, and how they create security that facilitates the healing process. Our inductive analyses revealed that participants emphasized the relationship between productivity and healing when they described recovery from trauma. Participants also discussed individual and structural facilitators and barriers to work. Finally, prominent themes emerged around gendered roles and expectations and the ways these function in refugee resettlement contexts that are shaped by policies that demand rapid economic self-sufficiency. Taken together, these findings suggest that policies that promote underemployment and foreclose opportunities for education and professional development may contribute negatively to refugee mental health, as well as keep refugees in poverty.

Participatory parity in schooling and moves towards ordinariness: a comparison of refugee education policy and practice in England and Sweden

ABSTRACTWithin the current global refugee crisis this paper emphasises the fundamental role of education in facilitating the integration of young new arrivals. It argues that a humanitarian problem of such scale requires a commensurate humanitarian response in the form of socially-just educational policies and practices in resettlement contexts within Europe. Utilising the theoretical concepts, ‘participatory parity’ (Fraser) and ‘resumption of an ordinary life’ (Kohli), we explore educational policy-making in Sweden and England, noting how the framing of these policies indicates how different nation states view their role in the global migration crisis. In England, child refugees are rendered invisible and not a legitimate focus of national educational policy, whereas in Sweden they are foregrounded in policy discourse though not necessarily in policy enactment. The paper concludes that newly arrived future citizens of Europe require socially-just policy and practice to best serve their own and their resettlement context’s best interests.

Crystalline Empowerment: Negotiating Tensions in Refugee Resettlement

As the number of forcibly displaced people continues to rise worldwide, humanitarian organizations are playing a growing role in finding solutions. This study investigates one of the world’s largest refugee resettlement organizations as it pilots innovative empowerment programs. With very little research regarding organizational rhetoric, discourse, and practices within resettlement agencies, there is great need for understanding the tensions that arise amid empowerment processes. This participant ethnography identifies distinct formations of empowerment and disempowerment. The analysis identifies tensions between (1) active/passive and (2) material/symbolic interpretations of empowerment, as well as (3) the enabling/constraining effects of communication technologies. The metaphor, crystalline empowerment, is introduced to connect a tension-centered approach with a view of empowerment that prioritizes organic, contingent interpretations while identifying practical opportunities for inclusion and agency in resettlement contexts.

The weaponisation of language: English proficiency, citizenship and the politics of belonging in Australia

Calls for greater protection of national boundaries – both physical and ideological – and the politicising of immigration and citizenship are increasingly characteristic of the global geo-political landscape. Several signatory countries to the UNHCR refugee convention have sought to legislate higher levels of language proficiency for citizenship eligibility. Most recently, this has been attempted in Australia, reigniting controversy about the use of language testing to assess a potential citizen’s ‘worthiness’. In this paper, we identify contested conceptions of belonging and citizenship, manifested in mediatised debates around language proficiency and citizenship which emerged following the announcement of proposed changes to Australian citizenship rules. We use Graff’s (1981) concept of the ‘Literacy Myth’ to analyze associations between language proficiency and ‘morality’ evident in Australian media articles, to explore the underpinning discourses of these proposals, and to probe the relationship between citizenship, belonging and language. We argue that these myths work discursively to frame language proficiency as a proxy measure of the morality of prospective citizens and their willingness to ‘integrate’ or ‘assimilate’ into resettlement contexts. Relatedly, these myths can be deployed to justify the denial of the possibility of belonging to those who do not possess the linguistic capital privileged by policy and media elites.

Refugee and migrant women's engagement with sexual and reproductive health care in Australia: A socio-ecological analysis of health care professional perspectives.

BackgroundIn Australia only 2.2% of published health research has focused on multi-cultural health despite the increase of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Research on the perceptions and experiences of health care professionals (HCPs) in engaging with refugee and migrant women is also lacking. Given the integral role of HCPs in providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care for these populations, an understanding of the challenges they experience is required. Therefore, this study sought to examine the perspectives and practices of Australian HCPs with regard to the provision of SRH care for refugee and migrant women.MethodsEmploying qualitative methods, twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCPs representing various professions, work experiences, cultural backgrounds, age and healthcare sectors. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and the socio-ecological model was utilised to interpret the data.ResultsThe complexities of HCP’s engagement with refugee and migrant women were identified in three major themes: Being a Migrant; Gender Roles and SRH Decision-making; and Women in the Healthcare System. HCPs discussed the impact of accessing SRH care in women’s country of origin and the influence of re-settlement contexts on their SRH knowledge, engagement with care and care provision. Perception of gender roles was integral to SRH decision-making with the need to involve male partners having an impact on the provision of women-centred care. Barriers within the healthcare system included the lack of services to address sexual functioning and relationship issues, as well as lack of resources, time constraints, cost of services, and funding.ConclusionAustralian HCPs interviewed reported that migrant and refugee women do not have appropriate access to SRH care due to multifaceted challenges. These challenges are present across the entire socio-ecological arena, from individual to systemic levels. Multiple and multidimensional interventions are required to increase SRH utilisation and improve outcomes for refugee and migrant women.

Culturally diverse parenting: An Australian study

In a period of educational reform that gives much attention to children?s family experiences, gaining an understanding of diverse cultural views of parenting is important. This is especially so for Australia, a multicultural society where the values of diversity, culture, family, and community are all shared in early childhood education. This article reports a study in Australia that explored the viewpoints of seven culturally diverse women on raising young children. By engaging with multiple cultural groups, the study seeks to expand scholarship on culturally diverse education which tends to draw on samples of single ethnic communities. The purpose is to locate the concept of parenting within a broader concept of culture and more importantly within the paradigm of diversity. Findings suggest that ideas of “culture”, “minority” and “difference” played a complex and dynamic role in the parents? experiences, and their childrearing practice was an articulation of cultural relationship that characterised the life of children and parents in resettlement contexts.

Mistrust and refugee women who are lone parents in resettlement contexts

The theme of mistrust in resettlement contexts is largely overlooked in refugee discourses. Through a qualitative inquiry of post-migration experiences of four women raising children alone in Brisbane, Australia, this paper outlines how the presence of mistrust could at times create difficult resettlement circumstances for these women, who then needed to negotiate additional obstacles in everyday life. The definition of social mistrust used here is a form of deliberate and ongoing suspicion about lone refugee women’s choices and lifestyles from other community members. Importantly, the women achieved a sense of well-being despite experiencing mistrust, both in inter-group and intra-group contexts, indicating that they conceptualised access to and benefits from social networks with different emphases on trust. Sociocultural narratives of mistrust, particularly gender-specific perspectives can enrich refugee discourses and challenge established notions of trust inherent to understandings of social networks in resettlement. The findings discussed in this paper contribute to debunking the ‘myth’ of homogeneity in relation to refugee groups and demonstrate the diversity of experiences among sub-groups of refugee women. The theme of mistrust, particularly among women, is an oft-neglected aspect and requires further attention.

Refugee Resettlement and Parenting in a Different Context

This article discusses the family dynamics of South Sudanese parents who arrived in New Zealand as quota refugees. It investigates how they experience parenting in relation to language barriers, gender roles, and cultural differences in raising children. The article reports on in-depth interviews with four solo mothers and two married fathers during which participants commonly expressed tensions between finding a workable relationship between traditional parenting and current expectations in New Zealand. This study identifies some potential pathways for working with refugee families who are raising children in resettlement contexts and highlights several key considerations concerning settlement support and gender.

Short-term risk experience of involuntary resettled households in the Philippines and Indonesia

Involuntary resettlement often impoverishes the displaced households. Cernea argued that impoverishment can be avoided with his Involuntary Risks and Reconstruction Model (IRR). The IRR Model has been widely utilized in resettlement studies and identifies nine interlinked potential risks inherent to displacement. Nonetheless, in assessing the risks as well as the effectiveness of interventions, most attention is directed at the institutional context. This paper argues that factors that mitigate risks of impoverishment are much more wide ranging. It covers the period of a year before and a year after resettlement. It investigates the manifestation of eight risks brought about by involuntary resettlement episodes in the Philippines and Indonesia as well as the factors that increased or decreased them. The findings in the study of two different resettlement contexts show the multi-dimensionality of resettlement risk causes. The study furthermore shows that institutional context alone is not enough to explain the risk outcome. Culture, physical location, individual and household characteristics should be factored in during the examination of impoverishment risks.

Disempowerment-Empowerment Dynamics: Theorizing the Role of Cultural Background and Capital in Refugees' Adaptation to New Contexts

AbstractThis paper presents a conceptual analysis of the role of cultural background or otherness and social capital in refugees' adaptation to new resettlement contexts. It also presents a framework, The Disempowerment-Empowerment Dynamics (D-ED), that can be used to theorize issues of power within refugee families. D-ED explores how the new society's recognition or non-recognition of refugees' personal capital affects adaptation and how the differences in individual aspirations and capital recognition interface with family-held values around identity, gender, roles and unity in a new context. The potential implications of this for social work practice are also discussed.

‘Walking the line’: Southern Sudanese masculinities and reconciling one's past with the present

This paper discusses an ethnographic engagement with Southern Sudanese men and their experiences of resettlement as refugees in Adelaide, Australia. They use the phrase ‘walking the line’ to convey the multiple challenges of reconciling one's past within thepresent contexts of life in a new host country. This geographic metaphor hints at the contested borderlands of masculinity, social relations and raising children that highlight the dynamic complexities related to gender and institutional power. The participant voices provide helpful perspectives on the endeavour of forging one's identity in forced migration and resettlement contexts.

‘Are You Able … to Learn?’: Power and Access to Higher Education for African Refugees in the USA

Using discourse analysis focused on identity and politics, we analyze the narratives of two Congolese refugees to explore issues of access to higher education. Data for this analysis come from a larger ethnographic study of educational opportunities for refugees in one US city. The narratives that these participants tell reveal both the ways in which various institutional factors limited their access to higher education and the agentive ways in which these refugees advocated for themselves. Refugees' educational experiences and aspirations may be invisible to those in power in resettlement contexts, or those in power may question, doubt, or ignore such experiences and aspirations. As a result, various institutions act as gatekeepers to limit refugees' access to higher education.

Refugee women survivors of war related sexualised violence: a multicultural framework for service provision in resettlement countries

This paper explores the question of redressing war related sexualised violence, often referred to as war rape, with refugee women in resettlement contexts using a Canadian case example. The first part of the paper uses theory and research to frame sexualised violence as a tool of war whose practice and impact are shaped by gender and cultural factors. This section highlights how, for survivors, the combination of psychological trauma and socio-cultural factors in post migration environments can create barriers for seeking help, social support, as well as vulnerability to further victimisation and mental health difficulties. The second section provides a case example of a community based mental health initiative in Canada for survivors of war related sexualised violence. The case explores the use of a psychosocial framework that integrates cultural competency, gender perspectives, and community advocacy. Challenges and opportunities of service provision in resettlement contexts are discussed, and recommendations are provided for multicultural mental health practice that is collaborative, community oriented, and sensitive to trauma survivors' needs.

A changing sense of Somaliness: Somali women in London and Toronto

This article considers how direct and indirect transnational linkages influence Somali refugee women settling in London, England and Toronto, Canada, and lead to shifts in identity in resettlement contexts. Drawing on interviews with Somali refugee women and discussions with resettlement staff, this article shows that under influences of distant and local linkages with other Somalis and through the cultural and social influences of the receiving society, Somali women develop a changing sense of their own Somaliness. The article argues that indicators of belonging, such as dress, religion and language, come to hold new and increased value within the new context, and familiar facets of national, cultural and religious identity shift in significance in response to competing influences and are used as intentional signifiers of identity.

Narratives of sexual health risk and protection amongst young people from refugee backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia

Young people with refugee backgrounds face many challenges when making their lives in a resettlement country and their sexual and reproductive health needs are often overlooked. This paper reports on sexual health literacy amongst recently arrived young refugees settling in Melbourne, Australia. Qualitative methods were used to explore how resettled youth access, interpret and implement sexual health information, with a particular focus on how social contexts shape attitudes and understandings. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with 142 participants aged between 16 and 25 years. Findings reveal that while young people had some knowledge of HIV and AIDS, knowledge of other STIs was limited. Importantly, narratives about risk and protection were informed by concerns for maintenance of social wellbeing. Sexual health promotion should be an explicit component of early resettlement services for youth with refugee backgrounds and strategies need to take account of the pre-migration and resettlement contexts.

Review of refugee mental health interventions following resettlement: best practices and recommendations.

There are increasing numbers of refugees worldwide, with approximately 16 million refugees in 2007 and over 2.5 million refugees resettled in the United States since the start of its humanitarian program. Psychologists and other health professionals who deliver mental health services for individuals from refugee backgrounds need to have confidence that the therapeutic interventions they employ are appropriate and effective for the clients with whom they work. The current review briefly surveys refugee research, examines empirical evaluations of therapeutic interventions in resettlement contexts, and provides recommendations for best practices and future directions in resettlement countries. The resettlement interventions found to be most effective typically target culturally homogeneous client samples and demonstrate moderate to large outcome effects on aspects of traumatic stress and anxiety reduction. Further evaluations of the array of psychotherapeutic, psychosocial, pharmacological, and other therapeutic approaches, including psychoeducational and community-based interventions that facilitate personal and community growth and change, are encouraged. There is a need for increased awareness, training and funding to implement longitudinal interventions that work collaboratively with clients from refugee backgrounds through the stages of resettlement.