International Women’s Health & Human Rights www.internationalwomenshealth.org  

 Week 6 Discussion Guide: Women in War and Refugee Circumstances

 Themes of this Week

•   Violence and human rights issues associated with displacement and conflict

•  Sexual violence in wartime and refugee camps

•  Forced eviction

•  Role of aid organizations

•   Asylum and immigration challenges

•  Challenges for LGBTI refugees

•   Activism

Part I. Initial Response

Reflect on the Week 6 readings and videos about women in conflict and refugee situations. Whatstories or facts particularly resonated with you? Discuss what stood out to you and why. Describeone idea or fact that was new to you in this week’s materials.

 

 

Part II. Topical Questions to consider with your group. We have left space for you to writedown some of your thoughts on the subject as you meet with your group. 

1. Does wartime magnify the gender gap (as stated in “ War and Violence Against Women,” p. 208)? What challenges do women, in particular, face in refugee situations?

2. The already intense threats to women’s health and safety in conflict and refugee situations areoften compounded for LGBTI women. With your group, consider the situation of a female refugeeseeking refugee status and asylum. Take turns discussing the points of view of different people,including:

•   A female refugee with LGBTI status - Why might she be afraid to share why she has beenpersecuted? What difficulties might she face during resettlement?

•   A manager of a faith-based NGO - What challenges to administering aid might an programofficial in a religion-based NGO face?

•   An interviewer determining refugee status - What questions would be appropriate andeffective for an interviewer to ask in order to verify that a woman is fleeing persecutionbecause of her sexual orientation or gender identity?

 

3. Displacement and increased sexual violence are often perceived as side effects of war and refugeesituations. But the “War and Violence Against Women” article contextualizes sexual violence against women within the framework of the greater conflict: “rape in wartime results from power imbalancesrather than from sexual motives” (p. 197). Did you previously think of forced eviction and sexual violence as wartime tactics? Discuss with your group any surprising new insights from this week’sreadings.

4. What do you think are the greatest psychological challenges to women in refugee camps? Considerstressful events such as displacement from home, anxiety due to dependence on supplies from aidorganizations, increased sexual violence, increased incidences of death and disease (and theimplications for childcare), and access to health resources.

 

 

5. Marjan Sax encourages everyone taking the course to take action when you see injustice in the world. She speaks about the plight of refugees seeking asylum without papers in the Netherlands,but her advice is probably applicable in every context that has been discussed in the course. What aresmall-scale and large-scale ideas for encouraging activism, particularly relating to questions of refugeesituations and beyond? What prevents people from taking a stand against injustice? Are there waysto overcome people’s reluctance to practice activism?

6. This week, the importance of stories is particularly clear, including refugees telling their stories togain asylum, women’s stories in the “Women, War, and Peace” documentary series, and jarringanecdotes like the story of the Rwandan widow in Chapter 7 of From Outrage to Courage . Weencourage you to share one memorable story from this week’s materials—or a related story of yourown—with your group.

Part III. When you have finished, we ask you to share your group’s reflections and/or your personal thoughts with the IWHHR community. Please click on the “Discussion Toolkit”tab for instructions.