Structural and Symbolic Violence Exacerbates the Risks and Consequences of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence for Forced Migrant Women

Abstract

While much attention is focused on rape as a weapon of war, evidence shows that forced migrant women and girls face increased risks of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) both during and following forced displacement. In this paper, we argue that gendered forms of structural and symbolic violence enable and compound the harms caused by interpersonal SGBV against forced migrant women and girls. These forms of violence are encountered in multiple contexts, including conflict and post-conflict settings, countries of refuge, and following resettlement. This paper illustrates the consequences of resultant cumulative harms for individuals and communities, and highlights the importance of considering these multiple, intersecting harms for policy and practice.

How structural and symbolic violence during resettlement impacts the social and mental wellbeing of forced migrant women: the lived experiences of Arabic speaking survivors of IPV resettled in Melbourne, Australia

“…Furthermore, we show that even when forced migrant survivors leave IPV situations, structural and symbolic violence persist and exacerbate the mental ill-health risks and consequences of IPV. These findings build on and expand on recent literature that considers multiple contexts of forced migration (not only resettlement) and provides a broad overview of the compounding and intersecting forms of gendered violence against forced migrant women [ 14 , 18 ]. More specifically, this article highlights the important role that autonomy and independence play in the mental health and wellbeing of forced migrant women.…”

“…Over the past decade, forced migration has doubled and become increasingly feminised [ 28 ]. While forced migrant experiences are diverse and complex, it has been well documented by organisations like Doctors of the World and the Women’s Refugee Commission that forced migrant women experience high levels of violence across their journeys [ 14 , 26 , 36 ].…”

“…Violence can be characterised as having three overarching forms that are intersecting yet distinct: structural, symbolic and interpersonal [ 14 , 23 , 37 ]. These forms of violence are dynamically linked across space and time through fluid social, political and economic processes that shape violence in both private and public spheres by different actors [ 19 ].…”

“…The term symbolic violence was coined by Pierre Bourdieu [ 3 ] and is used to describe the ideologies, behaviours, words, and non-verbal communications that produce, enable and reproduce power relations [ 3 , 24 , 31 ]. Structural violence against forced migrants is underpinned, enabled, and legitimised by xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant ideologies during resettlement [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 14 , 22 ]. Racism in Australia is underpinned by the White Supremacist settler colonial history of the Nation.…”

“…Structural and symbolic violence during resettlement have been found to contribute to poorer mental health for forced migrants with forced migrant women being at significantly greater risk of mental ill-health than men [ 14 , 16 , 29 , 30 ]. At the same time, the relationship between mental health and IPV is complex and bidirectional; women with mental illness experience higher rates of IPV and women who have experienced IPV have poorer mental health outcomes [ 10 , 12 ].…”