A Qualitative Analysis Exploring the Risk of Gender Based Violence Against Syrian Refugee Women in Jordan Restricted; Files Only
Boundaoui, Nouha (Spring 2018)
Published
Abstract
Background: In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), 37% of women experience gender-based violence (GBV). Numerous studies have demonstrated the harmful effects of GBV and its impact on women’s physical, mental, and emotional health, linking it to negative social and economic outcomes. Refugee women are at an increased risk of GBV due to the unstable social, political, and economic conditions in conflict settings. There is a need to investigate how the social-contextual factors of living as refugees affects Syrian refugee women's risk of GBV in Jordan.
Methods: The qualitative data analyzed in this study are drawn for a parent study conducted in Jordan in 2015 on GBV against women and girls displaced by the Syrian conflict in South Lebanon and North Jordan. Data from six in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were analyzed for this secondary analysis.
Results: Risks of and exposures to various forms of GBV occurred within three distinct social domains, the family, community, and the macro-societal and institutional levels. Perpetrators of violence included husbands, in-laws, neighbors, landlords, market vendors, taxi drivers, and strangers the women encountered outside of the home. Victim blaming, psychological distress and anti-Syrian sentiment further exacerbated women’s experiences of GBV.
Conclusions: Contextual factors related to living in Jordan as refugees that increased women’s risk of GBV included living in crowded homes, husband’s unemployment, financial pressures, lack of family support, abuse from neighbors and landlords, anti-Syrian sentiments, street harassment, and distrust of authorities. Implementation of GBV prevention programs targeted at these specific factors, that increase the risk of GBV, is vital to ensuring Syrian women’s safety, well-being, and ability to thrive. There is a need for policy level interventions to support pro-women policy and practices that support the Syrian community in Jordan.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.. 1
CHAPTER 2: COMPREHENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW... 4
CHAPTER 3: METHODS. 12
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS. 19
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.. 28
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 32
REFERENCES. 35
APPENDIX I 39
APPENDIX II 40
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