"We are not here to claim better services than any other" : Social exclusion among men from refugee backgrounds in urban and regional Australia (original) (raw)
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BMC Public Health
Background There has been a recent focus on resettlement of migrants and refugee in rural settings in Australia and elsewhere. Rural resettlement is seen as an opportunity to revitalise rural communities, to fill the needs of employers in these areas, and to provide a welcoming community within which new arrivals can integrate and settle. However, challenges to rural resettlement have been identified including difficulties securing employment, discrimination and social isolation. These challenges can affect resettlement outcomes including health and wellbeing, though relatively little research has examined these links. In this paper we explored experiences of people from refugee background settling in a rural Australian town, examining interconnections between social determinants of health (SDH) and integration. Methods Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 44 participants from Southeast Asia and Africa in a rural setting in South Australia, covering experiences of resettlemen...
Family separation and the impacts on refugee settlement in Australia
Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2013
In recent years, governments, researchers, non-government organisations, service providers and international institutions have become increasingly concerned with how to best support the settlement of refugees in UNHCR resettlement nations. Anxieties about the formation of a refugee underclass and the intergenerational impacts of social stratification motivate such inquiries. Settlement is often viewed through either of two lenses; the biomedical frame or the social inclusion frame. These frameworks are complementary rather than exclusive. It is from this combined theoretical perspective that this paper explores the impacts of family separation on the settlement of refugees in Australia. Drawing on focus groups and in-depth interviews across three refugee background communities in metropolitan Melbourne, the paper finds that family separation has pervasive impacts on the wellbeing of the participants and on their capacity to participate and direct their own futures. Family separation is found to be a barrier to settlement and therefore a crucial consideration for the design and provision of settlement services to people with refugee backgrounds.
BMC Public Health
Background: Research has shown that discrimination is harmful to health, but there is relatively little known about discrimination experienced by people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds in resettlement countries and associated health effects. This qualitative-focused mixed methods paper reports on discrimination experienced by refugees and asylum seekers, responses to discrimination, and impacts on health. Methods: As part of a broader study of housing, social inclusion and health, surveys were completed by 423 adult refugees and asylum seekers living in South Australia who had been in Australia for up to 7 years. The survey included questions on discrimination based on skin colour, ethnicity and religion, as well as questions on hope, trust, belonging, sense of control and health (including the SF-8). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 survey participants, purposively sampled by visa status, continent and gender, further exploring experiences of discrimination. These and survey open-ended responses were analysed thematically. Results: Twenty-two percent of survey participants reported experiences of discrimination since arriving in Australia (14% in the last year), and 90% of these felt that discrimination had harmed their health. Key settings of discrimination were public transport, within the neighbourhood, and in relation to employment. Those who reported discrimination had significantly worse mental health (p < .000) but not physical health. Discrimination was also associated with less sense of belonging (p = .001), lower levels of trust (p = .038), reduced sense of control (p = .012) and less hope (p = .006). Incidents described in interviews and the open-ended survey responses included incivility, physical assault, and denial of services, experienced across intersecting characteristics of race/ethnicity, religion, gender and visa status. Responses to discrimination spanned affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions, ranging across types of experience, participant characteristics and context, with most individuals reporting multiple response types. While some of the responses were reported by participants as protective of health, participants' reflections indicated significant negative impacts on mental health in particular. Conclusion: Discrimination featured in the resettlement experiences of a significant number of refugees and asylum seekers, with participants reporting clear negative impacts on mental health. Addressing discrimination is a key resettlement and health issue requiring urgent action.
Social Science & Medicine, 2010
For young people with refugee backgrounds, establishing a sense of belonging to their family and community, and to their country of resettlement is essential for wellbeing. This paper describes the psychosocial factors associated with subjective health and wellbeing outcomes among a cohort of 97 refugee youth during their first three years in Melbourne, Australia. The findings reported here are drawn from the Good Starts Study, a longitudinal investigation of settlement and wellbeing among refugee youth. The overall aim of Good Starts was to identify the psychosocial factors that assist youth with refugee backgrounds in making a good start in their new country. A particular focus was on key transitions: from pre-arrival to Australia, from the language school to mainstream school, and from mainstream school to higher education or to the workforce. Good Starts used a mix of both method and theory from anthropology and social epidemiology. Using standardized measures of wellbeing and generalised estimating equations with an exchangeable correlation structure to model the predictors of wellbeing over time, this paper reports that key factors strongly associated with wellbeing outcomes are those that can be described as indicators of belonging -the most important being subjective social status in the broader Australian community, perceived discrimination and bullying. We argue that settlement specific policies and programs can ultimately be effective if embedded within a broader socially inclusive society -one that offers real opportunities for youth with refugee backgrounds to flourish.
The social impacts of family separation on refugee settlement and inclusion in Australia
2019
Family reunion is an important component of successful migrant settlement. Yet in Australia, some humanitarian migrants are at a disadvantage when applying for family reunification visas. Emerging evidence reveals that family separation can have negative effects on an individual’s well-being and compromise the settlement process for new migrants.The aim of this report is to examine the relationship between family reunion and successful settlement for refugees. Conducted by the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre and supported by the Oxfam-Monash Partnership, this report provides foundational evidence to inform policy on family reunion in Australia, with a specific focus on the impact of family separation and resettlement on social inclusion outcomes for refugees.This report comprises three data analysis methods: a systematic review of available scholarly and grey literature; an analysis of the ‘Building a New Life in Australia’ (BNLA) survey of humanitarian migrants; and two in-de...
Social Capital and Rural Health for Refugee Communities in Australia
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Refugee resettlement significantly contributes to Australia’s migration programs, with recent policy directives prioritising rural resettlement. As a result, the cultural diversity of populations of several Australian rural towns has substantially expanded. Newcomers may encounter challenges becoming part of closed social networks and accessing the resources they need for a healthy life in resettlement. However, there are also benefits that stem from positive integration for newcomers and for receiving populations. As part of a larger study, which aimed to explore facilitators and barriers to successful resettlement in a rural setting, the objective of this paper was to show how social ties were important for participants’ health, both facilitating access to resources, including health services, and connecting people to health-promoting living conditions. In-depth individual interviews with 44 participants from refugee communities originally from Africa and South-East Asia, settled ...
2019
Family reunion is an important component of successful migrant settlement. Yet in Australia, some humanitarian migrants are at a disadvantage when applying for family reunification visas. Emerging evidence reveals that family separation can have negative effects on an individual’s well-being and compromise the settlement process for new migrants.The aim of this report is to examine the relationship between family reunion and successful settlement for refugees. Conducted by the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre and supported by the Oxfam-Monash Partnership, this report provides foundational evidence to inform policy on family reunion in Australia, with a specific focus on the impact of family separation and resettlement on social inclusion outcomes for refugees.This report comprises three data analysis methods: a systematic review of available scholarly and grey literature; an analysis of the ‘Building a New Life in Australia’ (BNLA) survey of humanitarian migrants; and two in-de...
Discrimination and Well‐Being: Perceptions of Refugees in Western Australia
International Migration Review, 2008
This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination experienced by humanitarian migrants to Australia, in the labor market and everyday life, yet simultaneous reporting of positive well-being. How can people feel discriminated against, yet still be relatively satisfied with life? The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data from a study of 150 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and Africa. Possible reasons for the level of well-being are explored, including “relative deprivation theory,” as well as various resiliency and mitigating factors, including personal and social supports. The notion of eudaimonic well-being – whereby experiences of difficulty produce positive well-being – is also applied to the findings. The negative experiences and perceptions appear to map onto low-level dissatisfaction or disgruntlement, and specifically directed or contained disappointment, rather than serious dissatisfaction with life generally, orientation to Australia, or negative subjective well-being.