Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Vulnerability and Resilience of Refugee Women and Children

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Remaking Social Work for the New Global Era

  • 584 Accesses

Abstract

Although migration is often perceived as an immediate response to humanitarian crises, people affected by forced displacement face significant risks and vulnerability. Drawing on mixed-methods research findings from Uganda’s Nakivale Refugee Settlement, this chapter examines the conceptualisation of vulnerability in refugee spaces and provides possibilities for recovery through strengths and resilience perspectives. The findings illustrate the key physical threats, limited social networks and community support, economic difficulties and poverty, remoteness and isolation, and structural oppression. Although refugees adapt and live, their lives paint a complex picture of human rights violations, exclusion and discrimination. Refugee protection should therefore not stop at settling them in gazetted spaces. Instead, owing to social work’s commitment to social justice, human rights and empowerment, a strength-based and resilience perspective obliges that in addition to reducing risks, social work specialists must support vulnerable populations in sustainably managing emergent risks. Individual refugees and communities must be supported in building resilience by removing obstacles to personal development and access to resources. Increased access to safe spaces for recreation, psychosocial and vocational training might empower vulnerable groups and expand their social networks. We propose rights-based advocacy, community awareness and advocacy for structural reforms to reduce vulnerability, oppression and social exclusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The preferred term to refer to the place where refugees are hosted is camps, but in Uganda and perhaps other countries too, we use the term settlement, p.2.

  2. 2.

    This is another refugee hosting district in Uganda, p.8.

  3. 3.

    See NTV story titled: OPM Commissioner Apollo Kazungu forced out over refugee scam

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IuHR0rCiqs&ab_channel=NTVUganda

    Daily Monitor Thursday 01 March 2018.Government orders reshuffle of refugee department as Kazungu is interdicted at: https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Gov-t-orders-reshuffle-refugee-Kazungu-interdicted-UNHCR/688334-4324050-15kd9cw/index.html?utm_source=newzmate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2326, p.15.

  4. 4.

    Dunn (2016, p.773) states that when there are many organisations responding to one crisis, they do not coordinate their efforts with one another. For example, they can conduct identical surveys, deliver the same goods to easy-to-reach camps but will not deliver other urgently needed supplies and will overlook people who are more distant but equally in need, p.14.

References

  • Adger, W. N. (2000). Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Progress in Human Geography, 24(3), 347–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allan, D. (2014). Refugees of the revolution: Experiences of Palestinian exile. Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berends, M. (2017). Beyond the basics: Holistic humanitarian assistance for Syrians. American Diplomacy, 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bukuluki, P., Mwenyango, H., Katongole, S., Sidhva, D., & Palattiyil, G. (2020). The socio-economic and psychosocial impact of Covid-19 pandemic on urban refugees in Uganda. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health and Social Care. (2019). Strengths-based approach: Practice framework and practice handbook. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778134/stengths-based-approach-practice-framework-and-handbook.pdf. Accessed 13 June 2021.

  • Dunn, E. C. (2016). Refugee protection and resettlement problems, Science, 352(6287), 772–773.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassetta, G., & Quinn, N. (2018). A healthy start? Experiences of pregnant (refused) asylum seeking women in Scotland. European Journal of Public Health, 28(s1), 102–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassetta, G., Da Lomba, S., & Quinn, N. (2016). A healthy start? Experiences of refugee and asylum seeking women in Scotland. Glasgow: NHS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, A., & Miguel, J. P. (2009). Health and migration in the European Union: Better health for all in an inclusive society. Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fineman, M. (2011). Women, marriage and motherhood in the United States: Allocating responsibility in a changing world. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fineman, M. A. (2017). Vulnerability and inevitable inequality. Oslo Law Review, 4(03), 133–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, J. (2019). The uses and abuses of “vulnerability” in EU asylum and refugee protection: Protecting women or reducing autonomy? Papeles del CEIC, 2019(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallego, M., Gualda, E., & Rebollo, C. (2017). Women and refugees in twitter: Rhetorics on abuse, vulnerability and violence from a gender perspective. Journal of Mediterranean Knowledge, 2(1), 37–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hycner, R. (1985). Some guidelines for the phenomenological analysis of interview data. Human Studies, 8(3), 279–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ikanda, F. N. (2018). Animating ‘refugeeness’ through vulnerabilities: worthiness of long-term exile in resettlement claims among Somali refugees in Kenya. Africa: The Journal of the International African Institute, 88(3), 579–596.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Federation of Social Workers, International Association of Schools of Social Work & International Council on Social Welfare. (2014). Global definition of social work. Available at: http://ifsw.org/get-involved/global-definition-of-social-work/. Accessed 24 Nov 2016.

  • Jalala, S., Latifoglu, G., & Uzunboylu, H. (2020). Strength-based approach for building resilience in school children: The case of Gaza. Anales de Psicología (Murcia, Spain), 36(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.343501

    Google Scholar 

  • Karunakara, U. K. et al. (2004). Traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst Sudanese nationals, refugees, and Ugandans in the West Nile. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Vol 4(2) Journal of African Health Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karakosta, A., & Riza, E. (2020). Increased vulnerability to gender-based violence (GBV) in refugee women in humanitarian settings. Identifying the gaps. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health, 3(2), 117–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimbrough, W., et al. (2012). The burden of tuberculosis in crisis-affected populations: a systematic review. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23174381

  • Krejcie, R., & Morgan, D. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2006). Designing qualitative research (Fourth ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (1999). Why does immigration occur? A theoretical synthesis. In: Hirschman et al. (Eds), The handbook of international migration: The American experience, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muhwezi, W. W., et al. (2011). Vulnerability to high risk sexual behaviour (HRSB) following exposure to war trauma as seen in post-conflict communities in eastern Uganda: A qualitative study. Conflict and Health, 5(1), 22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulumba, D. (2011). The gendered politics of firewood in Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Uganda. African Geographical Review, 30(1), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mwenyango, H. (2020). The place of social work in improving access to health services among refugees: A case study of Nakivale settlement, Uganda. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820962195

  • Mwenyango, H. (2021). Gendered dimensions of health in refugee situations: An examination of sexual and gender-based violence faced by refugee women in Nakivale refugee settlement, Uganda. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211003973

  • Mwenyango, H., & Palattiyil, G. (2019). Health needs and challenges of women and children in Uganda’s refugee settlements: Conceptualising a role for social work. International Social Work, 62(6), 1535–1547. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872819865010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Population Council (NPC). (2018). State of Uganda Population Report 2018: Good Governance; A prerequisite to harness the Demographic Dividend for Sustainable Development. Available at: http://npcsec.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/SUPRE-2018-.pdf. Accessed 08 Aug 2019.

  • Nugent, N. R., Sumner, J. A., & Amstadter, A. B., (2014). Resilience after trauma: from surviving to thriving. European Journal of Psych traumatology, 5(1), pp. Article 25339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). (2015). A Concept Paper for the settlement and Transformation Agenda Project 2016–2021. The Government of Uganda.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). (2017). We Stand with Refugees; What about You?, The Premier, Executive Magazine, 2, 1–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Omata, N. (2017). The myth of self-reliance: economic lives inside a Liberian refugee camp, New York: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papadopoulos, R. K. (2008). Systemic challenges in a refugee camp. Context, the Journal of the Association of Family Therapy, August 16–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papadopoulos, R. K. (2010). Enhancing vulnerable asylum seekers’ protection. Trainers’ manual. Trainer’s manual. International Organisation for Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, M. (1996). What is professional social work? Birmingham: Venture.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, E. (2005). Exploring the vulnerability of asylum seekers in the UK. Population, Space and Place, 11(6), 499–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svenberg, K., Bengt, M., & Carola, S. (2009). ‘A person of two countries’. Life and health in exile: Somali refugees in Sweden. Anthropology & Medicine, 16(3), 279–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tastsoglou, E., Abidi, C. B., Brigham, S. M., & Lange, E. A. (2014). (En)gendering vulnerability: Immigrant service providers’ perceptions of needs, policies, and practices related to gender and women refugee claimants in Atlantic Canada. Refuge (Toronto. English Edition), 30(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.39620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, N., & Thompson, S. (2016). The social work companion, 2nd edn. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR and IDC. (2016). Vulnerability Screening Tool - Identifying and addressing vulnerability: a tool for asylum and migration systems, 2016. Available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f21f6b4.html. Accessed 14 Sept 2018.

  • UNHCR. (2011). UNHCR Resettlement Handbook. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2018). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017’. Available online at: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/statistics/unhcrstats/5b27be547/unhcr-globaltrends-2017.html (accessed 2 July 2018).

  • UNHCR. (2019a). Uganda Country Refugee Response Plan: The integrated response plan for refugees from South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo January 2019 — December 2020. Available at: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/dataviz/19. Accessed 26 May 2019.

  • UNHCR. (2019b). Global trends: Forced displacement in 2018. Accessible at: https://www.unhcr.org/5d08d7ee7.pdf. Accessed 26 July 2019.

  • Valtonen, K. (2008). Social work and migration: Immigrant and refugee settlement and integration. Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2019). Informing the refugee policy response in uganda: Results from the uganda refugee and host communities 2018 household survey, Available online at: http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/571081569598919068/pdf/Informing-the-Refugee-Policy-Response-in-Uganda-Resultsfrom-the-Uganda-Refugee-and-Host-Communities-2018-Household-Survey.pdf (accessed 19 February 2021).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK

    Hadijah Mwenyango

  2. School of Social and Political Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    George Palattiyil

  3. Higher Education Academy, Edinburgh, UK

    George Palattiyil

Authors
  1. Hadijah Mwenyango
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. George Palattiyil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hadijah Mwenyango .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. S R Nathan School of Human Development, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore, Singapore

    Ngoh Tiong Tan

  2. Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practice School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

    P.K. Shajahan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mwenyango, H., Palattiyil, G. (2022). Vulnerability and Resilience of Refugee Women and Children. In: Tan, N.T., Shajahan, P. (eds) Remaking Social Work for the New Global Era. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08352-5_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08352-5_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08351-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08352-5

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation