Paper details

Paper authors	Carolin Fischer
In panel on	Managing governance of forced displacement and refugee crises: can lessons be learned from the host communities?
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

This paper sets the scene for zooming in on the gendered articulations and repercussions of violence in refugee reception and settlement. It questions the idea of a safe haven, arguing that violence does not necessarily end once refugees arrive at their destination and are granted protection. In a first step, we trace how violence, forced migration and gender have been brought together in the contemporary conceptual and empirical literature. To this end, we present a systematic overview of i) The ways and contexts in which links between forced migration and gendered violence have been studied; ii) How certain moments in forced migration processes are marked by specific articulations of gendered violence; iii) How the forms of gendered violence experienced are presented as interlocking and mutually reinforcing. We then turn to the puzzle how gendered violence continues to shape the lives of refugees once they are legally entitled to establish themselves at a safe haven granting them temporary or permanent protection. This requires a broader conceptual understanding of what violence is. Beyond interrogations of the concept of violence itself, there is a need to establish in which contexts it is treated as expected and normal and where it remains hidden and veiled. Contributions to the theoretical literature treat violence as a broad and slippery concept that encompasses a wide range of different articulations. Based on ethnographic data from Norway and Switzerland, we argue that this complexity of gendered violence is reflected in and contributes to shaping life at the safe haven. Our paper prepares the ground for reflexive engagements with the ways in which gendered violence continues to affect the lives of refugees after they were granted legal protection.

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