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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sociol.
Sec. Migration and Society
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1420124
This article is part of the Research Topic Gender and the Continuum of Violence in Migration View all articles

The Continuum of Gender-Based Violence Experienced by Migrant and Refugee Women in Canada: Perspectives from Key Informants

Provisionally accepted
Mia Sisic Mia Sisic 1*Evangelia Tastsoglou Evangelia Tastsoglou 2*Myrna Dawson Myrna Dawson 3Lori Wilkinson Lori Wilkinson 4Catherine Holtmann Catherine Holtmann 5Chantelle Falconer Chantelle Falconer 6
  • 1 University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
  • 2 Saint Mary's University, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • 3 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
  • 4 University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
  • 5 University of New Brunswick Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
  • 6 Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Little research has been done on conceptualizing gender-based violence (GBV) against immigrant and refugee women as a continuum of violence. The objective of the larger study was to understand gender-based violence in migration and analyze the ways in which discriminations and inequalities interact to increase vulnerability and decrease access to supports and services for some women. Using (a) the concept of continuum of [sexual] violence and (b) intersectionality, we demonstrate the need to both document the range of violence in women's lives and the tactics of victimization among immigrant and refugee women and show how they are different than the cumulated literature showing victimization tactics against the Canadian-born population. Using semi-structured interviews via phone or video, we asked professionals (N = 43) who worked with migrant women across Canada about forms of GBV experienced in the immigrant and refugee populations they worked with. Participants reported that non-physical forms of violence are more normalized, but also more commonly experienced than physical forms of violence in Canada. Additionally, intersecting social identities impact both the distinct and amplified forms of GBV immigrant and refugee women experienced. Results contribute theoretically and empirically to the conceptualization of the GBV experiences by immigrant and refugee women in Canada.

    Keywords: Gender-based violence (GBV), Women, migrants, Refugees, Key Informants (KIs)

    Received: 19 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sisic, Tastsoglou, Dawson, Wilkinson, Holtmann and Falconer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Mia Sisic, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
    Evangelia Tastsoglou, Saint Mary's University, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.