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Essay / Social and gender norms in refugee camps
A 2017 study by the Refugee Rights Data Project found that one in two female refugees in Greece said they did not feel safe in their camp due to incidents of rape, forced marriage and forced prostitution. , and traffic. The idea of a refugee camp is to create a safe haven for those fleeing the dangers of war and persecution, but many female refugees find they have escaped one form of victimization only to face another. Refugee women are denied the same access to resources as men, face the worst human rights violations and have little or no legal recourse. Serena Parekh, in Moral Significance of the Refugee Regime, argues that the nature of a refugee camp as an artificial community normalizes violence against women. Delving further into this topic, I argue that conditions in refugee camps – artificial, aid-dependent communities steeped in patriarchal social norms – amplify traditional gender roles and make women even more vulnerable within these camps than outside. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the arguments for the violence women face in refugee camps is the breakdown of social norms. Even before fleeing their homes, most refugee women face oppression in their daily lives. In the absence of regulation and community support in the camps, the vulnerabilities women face are compounded. Human Rights Watch observed in a study of Tanzanian refugee camps that one of the main causes of sexual violence against women was "...the breakdown of traditional societal support mechanisms...particularly community support systems for protection of vulnerable individuals.” This situation is compounded by the fact that male refugees also face a change in status, as they are no longer able to support their own families. This pseudo-identity crisis can lead men to attempt to prove their masculinity and fulfill their traditional role in society by asserting their dominance over the women in the camp. The high incidence of domestic violence and the belief that men turn to such belligerence due to the stress of lack of gainful employment are linked to the idea that men may attempt to overcompensate if they feel that their position in society is weakening. Domestic violence thus becomes a means of regaining power and control. Parekh's argument that “the camps are spaces beyond the rule of law,” placing them in a legal vacuum, also contributes to the impunity with which gender-based violence persists in the camps. Host country laws are rarely enforced, justice systems are ineffective, and, according to Parekh, sexual violence is often considered too common to require prosecution. This simultaneously reduces the guarantees for women and the constraints for men. Although camps technically fall under the legal jurisdiction of the host state, refugee camps are spaces where the law does not apply, and even UNHCR has been unable to protect human rights in the camps. In fact, government officials and aid workers themselves have been a source of abuse by being complicit in rape and forced prostitution, with one of the most notable examples being collaboration between camp officials and..