Week 6 Discussion Guide: Women in War and Refugee Circumstances

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1 International Women s Health & Human Rights Week 6 Discussion Guide: Women in War and Refugee Circumstances Themes of this Week Violence and human rights issues associated with displacement and conflict Sexual violence in wartime and refugee camps Forced eviction Role of aid organizations Asylum and immigration challenges Challenges for LGBTI refugees Activism Before You Begin Visit the Discussion Toolkit instructions page and read the instructions thoroughly to prepare for group discussions: The toolkits are a jumping-off point to start your conversations. You may have questions of your own that you wish to discuss with your group, which we also encourage. As you plan your discussion session and choose which of the following questions to address, please remember that you do not have to get through all of the questions. The main purpose of meeting together is to have an engaged and thoughtful discussion about International Women s Health and Human Rights.

2 Part 1. Initial Response Meet Your Group (5-10 minutes) Briefly introduce yourself and describe one new idea or fact that you have learned from the course during this week concerning violence against women in war and refugee circumstances. Part II. Topical Questions to consider with your group. (Choose 2-3 questions to answer) We have left space for you to write down some of your thoughts on the subject as you meet with your group. Tactics of War (10+ minutes) 1. Displacement and increased sexual violence are often perceived as side effects of war and refugee situations, but the War and Violence Against Women article contextualizes sexual violence against women within the framework of the greater conflict: rape in wartime results from power imbalances rather than from sexual motives (p. 197). Did you previously think of forced eviction and sexual violence as wartime tactics? Discuss with your group any surprising new insights from this week s readings. Challenges for Women in War & Refugee Situations (10+ minutes) 2. How does wartime magnify the gender gap (as stated in War and Violence Against Women p. 208)? What challenges do women, in particular, face in war and refugee situations?

3 Experiencing Refugee Camps (10+ minutes) 3. What do you think are the greatest psychological challenges to women in refugee camps? Consider stressful events such as displacement from home, anxiety due to dependence on supplies from aid organizations, increased sexual violence, increased incidences of death and disease (and the implications for childcare), and access to health resources. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex Persons (15 minutes) 4. The already intense threats to women s health and safety in conflict and refugee situations are often compounded for LGBTI individuals. With your group, consider the situation of a female refugee seeking refugee status and asylum. Take turns discussing the points of view of different people, including: A female refugee with LGBTI status - Why might she be afraid to share why she has been persecuted? What difficulties might she face during resettlement? A manager of a faith-based NGO - What challenges to administering aid might an program official in a religion-based NGO face? An interviewer determining refugee status - What questions would be appropriate and effective for an interviewer to ask in order to verify that a woman is fleeing persecution because of her sexual orientation or gender identity?

4 Taking Action in Your Community (10-15 minutes) 5. Marjan Sax encourages everyone taking the course to take action when you see injustice in the world. She speaks about the plight of refugees seeking asylum without papers in the Netherlands, but her advice is probably applicable in every context that has been discussed in the course. What are small-scale and large-scale ideas for encouraging activism, particularly relating to questions of refugee situations and beyond? What prevents people from taking a stand against injustice? Are there ways to overcome people s reluctance to practice activism? Telling and Retelling Stories (10-15 minutes) 6. This week, the importance of stories is particularly clear, including refugees telling their stories to gain asylum, women s stories in the Women, War, and Peace documentary series, and jarring anecdotes like the story of the Rwandan widow in Chapter 7 of From Outrage to Courage. We encourage you to share one memorable story from this week s materials or a related story of your own with your group. What stories or facts particularly resonated with you?

5 Part III. Submit a Report When you have finished, please share your group s reflections with the IWHHR community. As a team, make sure to fill out the information needed for the Discussion Toolkit report before you conclude your meeting. Your group only needs to submit ONE report. The online report form asks for the following: Date of your Meeting # Group Members participating What you discussed (short write-up of a few sentences) City and Country of each participant Was the meeting online or in person? Access the Sharing Portal at: Note: For those interested in a Statement of Accomplishment from Stanford University, you should also write an individual reflection on today s group meeting and post it on the Sharing Portal. You must attend at least three group meetings during this course to receive the Statement of Accomplishment.