How structural and symbolic violence during resettlement impacts the social and mental wellbeing of forced migrant women: the lived experiences of Arabic speaking survivors of IPV resettled in Melbourne, Australia.

Forced migrant women experience high levels of violence across their journeys and violence can be characterised as having three overarching forms: structural, symbolic, and interpersonal. It is important to understand the intersecting nature of gendered forms of symbolic, structural and interpersonal violence, and their impact on the mental health of forced migrant women in order to develop holistic IPV and resettlement programs and interventions. This article adopts an ecological framework of violence and qualitative methods with mental health service providers and survivors of IPV to understand the intersections of different forms of violence and their impact on mental health as they relate to the lived experiences of Arabic-speaking forced migrant survivors currently residing in Melbourne, Australia. Our research has three key findings: (1) that forced migrant women living in Melbourne, Australia experience intersecting forms of violence during resettlement (2) Structural and symbolic violence against forced migrant women persists regardless of marital status (3) Autonomy and independence plays a vital role in the mental health and wellbeing of forced migrant women. Our findings reveal that structural and symbolic violence increase the risk of IPV for forced migrant women during resettlement and that even when forced migrant women leave IPV situations, structural and symbolic violence persist and exacerbate mental ill-health. This article also reveals the importance autonomy and independence in both the perpetration of violence and in healing and recovery.

Gender disparities and psychological distress among humanitarian migrants in Australia: a moderating role of migration pathway?

BACKGROUND: The role of migration pathway (refugees vs. asylum seekers) is seldom addressed in extant literature that looks at gender and mental health of humanitarian migrants. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between gender and psychological distress among humanitarian migrants in Australia including the potential moderating role of migration pathway. METHODS: We analyse data from 2399 humanitarian migrants that participated in the first wave of Building a New Life in Australia, a survey of humanitarian migrants in Australia, using Ordinary Least Squares multivariate regression. RESULTS: Women report significantly higher psychological distress than men. Migration pathway moderates the relationship between gender and psychological distress with women asylum seekers reporting higher psychological distress. There is also a significant association between pre-migration trauma, settlement arrangements (particularly those associated with finance, housing, getting used to life in Australia and loneliness) and psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate higher psychological distress among asylum seeking women and suggest the importance of migrant status in predicting psychological distress. Settlement arrangements are key predictors of psychological distress among humanitarian migrants. While strategies aimed at addressing their mental health are warranted, policies aimed at the broader social determinants of health are needed to alleviate some of their mental distress especially in light of the recent changes to the Australian Refugee and Asylum-seeking policies.

The MuSeS project: a mixed methods study to increase understanding of the role of settlement and multicultural services in supporting migrant and refugee women experiencing violence in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Violence against women is a major human rights and public health issue globally. The experience of violence affects women across Australia, including the large number of migrant and refugee women who permanently or temporarily resettle in the country. Many women who experience violence find it difficult to access support, and evidence suggests women who have resettled in Australia face additional barriers to violence-specific services. Previous research, however, indicates many migrant and refugee women experiencing violence have contact with, and may disclose violence to, settlement and multicultural services. There has been limited research documenting current knowledge of, and practices by, settlement and multicultural services in relation to violence. The MuSeS project will address this knowledge gap and identify strategies settlement and multicultural services can use to better support women experiencing violence. METHODS: This mixed methods research project will be conducted in six geographic communities across three Australian states: South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The different migration and resettlement patterns seen in these jurisdictions will enable generation of data relevant to settings across the country. The project has been designed in consultation with partner organisations from the settlement and multicultural service sector to ensure the research addresses their concerns and priorities. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to generate rich data to inform strategies for settlement and multicultural services to better support women experiencing violence. These methods include an anonymous online survey of settlement and multicultural service providers to assess current knowledge, practices and professional development needs; in-depth interviews with settlement, multicultural and specialist (refugee) mental health service providers; in-depth interviews with refugee women; and focus group discussions with frontline workers and volunteers working with settlement and multicultural services. DISCUSSION: Findings from this two-year research project will generate an in-depth understanding of the current and potential role of Australian settlement and multicultural services in supporting migrant and refugee women experiencing violence, and inform strategies to strengthen services' capacity to appropriately respond. Given the prevalence of violence against women globally, findings will be useful for services engaging with migrant and refugee populations around the world.

Social norms and attitudes linked to waterpipe use in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) is on the rise globally, particularly among vulnerable populations such as youth and women. Increasing knowledge about toxicant yield from waterpipe tobacco and deleterious health effects points to the potential for a health epidemic. WTS is often viewed as a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. Though the original objective of the research was to explore the social norms and attitudes that lead to waterpipe being a more acceptable form of tobacco smoking for women than cigarettes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the use of a qualitative research methodology resulted in rich data that helped to understand more generally the phenomenon of waterpipe smoking. Both focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews were used. Participants were recruited to represent genders, various age groups, socioeconomic status, waterpipe smoking status, and residents of urban and rural areas. A total of 81 FGDs and 38 in-depth interviews were conducted in 2007. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. A total of ten themes emerged: socio-cultural norms, gender differences, motivation to smoke, sensory characteristics of waterpipe, metaphors, consumerism, indicators of dependence, comparison between cigarettes and waterpipe, health effect of smoking, and intervention. Results indicated that WTS has socio-cultural dynamics associated with it that are far more pronounced than health considerations. An increased socio-cultural acceptability, the perceived reduced harm and the advent of the fruity Moassel tobacco are among the many reasons for WTS acceptability. Findings point to the need for a unified strategy to address this health issue at all levels of the ecological framework and have important implications for future policy and practice.

Women and waterpipe tobacco smoking in the eastern mediterranean region: allure or offensiveness.

The prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking is increasing worldwide, despite evidence indicating its adverse health effects. Women and young people seem more likely to be choosing waterpipe tobacco smoking over cigarettes. The objective of this qualitative study was to understand better whether and why waterpipe smoking is a more acceptable form of tobacco use than cigarettes for women in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and to understand whether the strategies used by multi-national corporations to attract women to cigarette smoking were perceived to be relevant in the context of waterpipe tobacco use. Focus groups (n = 81) and in-depth interviews (n = 38) were conducted with adults in Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Discussions were thematically analyzed and recurrent themes identified. One of the themes which emerged was the negative image of women smoking waterpipes. Moreover, the sexual allure conveyed through waterpipe smoking as well as waterpipe tobacco smoking as a symbol of emancipation was illustrated. The latter was mainly expressed in Lebanon, in contrast with Egypt where traditional gender roles depict women smoking waterpipes as disrespectful to society. Understanding the social aspects of waterpipe tobacco smoking is crucial to planning future interventions to control waterpipe tobacco smoking among women and in society at large.