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Mean Streets: Identifying and Responding to Urban Refugees’ Risks of Gender-Based Violence

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Mean Streets: Identifying and Responding to Urban Refugees’ Risks of Gender-Based Violence Women’s Refugee Commission Research. Rethink. Resolve. Mean Streets: Identifying and Responding to Urban Refugees’ Risks of Gender-Based Violence February 2016 Research. Rethink. Resolve. The Women’s Refugee Commission improves the lives and protects the rights of women, children and youth displaced by conflict and crisis. We research their needs, identify solutions and advocate for programs and policies to strengthen their resilience and drive change in humanitarian practice. Acknowledgments This report was researched and written by Jennifer S. Rosenberg, senior program officer— gender-based violence, Women’s Refugee Commission, with contributions from Dale Buscher, Joan Timoney, Anna Myers, Emma Pearce, Omar Robles and Tenzin Manell. Diana Quick edited and designed the report. This work was undertaken by the Women’s Refugee Commission with the support of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. Department of State. The Women’s Refugee Commission extends its sincerest gratitude to all UN agencies, NGOs, and civil society organizations that shared views on the operational contexts and facilitated access to refugees, displaced persons, and stakeholders during field visits. This includes our primary local partners in each site, who provided guidance and logistical support on field visits, as well as feedback on findings that fed into this report. These local partners are: Asylum Access Ecuador, in Quito; Don Bosco Association, in Delhi; the Refugee Law Project, in Kampala; ABBAD-Resource Center for Gender Equality, in Beirut; and Lebanese Association of Self-Advocates, in Beirut. Thank you to the following individuals who provided feedback on particular sections of the report: Jennifer Rumbach, Marya Rahman, Chris Dolan, Linda Bartolomei, and Kristy Ward. Finally, the Women’s Refugee Commission is deeply grateful to the refugees and displaced persons who shared their valuable time, perspectives, and ideas for change. Cover photo credit: Somali woman living in Delhi. © Mary Tran. © 2016 Women’s Refugee Commission ISBN:1-58030-144-4 Women’s Refugee Commission 122 East 42nd Street | New York, NY 10168-1289 212.551.3115 | [email protected] | womensrefugeecommission.org Women’s Refugee Commission Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations .........................................................................................................i Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................4 Report Roadmap ......................................................................................................................................12 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................13 Short Background on Each Target City .................................................................................17 GBV Risks Common to All Urban Refugees ....................................................................19 The Urban Model: Challenges and Opportunities for Mitigating Urban GBV Risks and Strengthening Community-Based Protection ..........................24 Urban GBV Risks by Refugee Sub-Population ..............................................................46 Women .....................................................................................................................................................46 Children and Adolescents ........................................................................................................59 LGBTI Refugees ..............................................................................................................................69 Refugees Engaged in Sex Work ........................................................................................95 Persons with Disabilities ...........................................................................................................109 Men and Boys ....................................................................................................................................123 Male Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence ...................................126 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................131 Notes..................................................................................................................................................................133 Appendix: Four Urban Contexts ..................................................................................................138 i Acronyms & Abbreviations CBO Community-based organization DPO Organization of persons with disabilities DRC Democratic Republic of Congo GBV Gender-based violence HIAS Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society LGBTI Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LCRP Lebanon Crisis Response Plan NGO Nongovernmental organization NSWP Global Network of Sex Work Projects OGERA Organization for Gender Empowerment and Rights Advocacy SOP Standard operating procedure SWIT Sex Worker Implementation Tool TRANSIT Trans Implementation Tool UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees WRC Women’s Refugee Commission 1 Executive Summary An increasing majority (nearly 60 percent) of refugees live in cities, a figure that will continue to rise as camps become an option of last resort. This new reality necessitates a monumental shift in humanitarian response, requiring policy makers, donors, and practitioners to develop new programming that addresses the protec- tion concerns of refugees in urban contexts. Urban refugees face gender-based violence (GBV) risks as a result of multiple and complex unmet social, medical, and economic needs, as well as intersecting oppressions based on race, ethnicity, nationality, language, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Misperceptions further contribute to discrimination toward refugees, which in turn heightens their vulnerability. Throughout 2015, the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) conducted research in urban settings, the first phase of a multi-year project to improve the humani- tarian community’s understanding of and response to GBV risks in urban contexts. Quito, Ecuador; Beirut, Lebanon; Kampala, Uganda; and Delhi, India, were chosen because they are host to diverse refugee populations, have different policy envi- ronments for refugees, and are at different stages of humanitarian response. The project looked separately at the GBV risks of different urban refugee subpop- ulations: women; adolescent girls; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals; persons with disabilities; and male survivors of sexual violence. Refugees engaged in sex work were added as a subpopulation, due to their invis- ibility and the heightened GBV risks they face. Findings A deeper understanding of the nuances and complexities of urban risks is essen- tial to addressing violence and bridging the protection gaps affecting marginalized groups who have been traditionally overlooked in humanitarian response. UNHCR’s 2009 Urban Policy unequivocally affirmed its protection mandate but limited itself to setting forth “the broad contours and underlying principles” of engagement with urban refugees. There remains a need for more specific guid- ance, as well as capacity building for field staff. Additionally, more creative and agile use of donor funding is necessary, bolstered by more formal opportunities to share information about what works, or is showing promise, in different cities worldwide. 2 Key Recommendation #1: Systematize and broaden engagement of local actors. Among the key research findings is the need for urban humanitarian practitio- ners to move beyond traditional partners, engaging a broad network of police departments, school boards, hospital administrators, local shelters, health clinics, civil society groups, and local community-based organization (CBOs). It is critical to leverage the skills, expertise, and social or political capital of local actors in urban protection. This engagement must be approached systemati- cally and tailored to account for the particular needs of refugee subpopulations. Diversifying UNHCR’s partner base and referrals is key to ensuring that at-risk populations can access appropriate services. Key Recommendation #2: Develop proactive, targeted strategies for addressing GBV risks related to shelter and livelihoods. Shelter and livelihoods are the two greatest areas of GBV vulnerability for urban refugees. Addressing urban refugees’ difficulty in obtaining safe and stable housing and livelihoods is a foundational component of urban protection and GBV risk mitigation. Exploitation, discrimination, and various forms of GBV are routine. Direct advocacy is needed at the local level to assist refugees seeking housing and to identify potential employers and develop a multifaceted response to the exploitation of refugee workers. Key Recommendation #3: Prioritize, and earmark resources for, targeted actions and proactive outreach tailored to meet the needs of different at-risk subpopulations. Mainstreaming alone cannot address interlocking social, political, and economic systems that give rise to GBV risks for refugee subpopulations. Targeted
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