Browsing by Author "Jegorenkov, Vera"

The humanitarian crisis caused by the Syrian civil war has resulted in millions becoming refugees, most of whom are women and girls. Out of all countries, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita. Lebanese policies have been generally marked by state absenteeism and the exclusion of Syrians. The policies together with the economic crisis in Lebanon have resulted in most of the refugees living in the country informally and in dire socioeconomic situation. The objective of this thesis is to look at gender-based violence against Syrian refugee women and girls in Lebanon through a feminist political economy framework. This is done through analyzing interviews conducted with Lebanese experts and triangulating the data with existing academic and non-academic research. The Lebanese exclusionary policies, the political economy of the country, and the patriarchal structures expose Syrian women to socioeconomic violence and create a pool of people who are vulnerable to exploitation, violence, and unfree labour. Said factors also lead to resorting to negative coping strategies, such as survival sex, child marriage, and entering precarious work conditions. There is an interconnection of acceptance of violence, patriarchal norms, and institutional structures that all heighten the risk of IPV for Syrian refugee women. While women feel empowered by their access to resources through work, the risk of IPV grows as men are unable to fulfil their roles as the ideal masculine breadwinner and develop violent masculinities as an answer to marginalization. Syrian families, and sometimes girls themselves, resort to child marriage to seek protection and ease the financial constraints, which further keeps girls in the cycle of poverty and violence. Syrian women and girls face multiple forms of gender-based violence in Lebanon. The violence has a material basis which is accelerated by the socioeconomic situation and Lebanon's approach to the refugee crisis. The patriarchal structures that persist in the Syrian and Lebanese societies heighten women's vulnerability to violence and normalise it. The socioeconomic situation and the patriarchal values are upheld by the state policies and structures that fail to provide adequate protection to refugees and women, leading to marginalisation and giving space to actors, such as employers and landlords, who use the situation for their own benefit. Instead of looking at violence women and girls face as separate incidents, it is more useful to look at the continuums of violence that are present in the Syrian women and girls’ lives.