Normal view MARC view ISBD view

Migrant and refugee women in the COVID-19 pandemic : Harmony Alliance impact, resilience and the way forward

Contributor(s): Harmony Alliance.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Melbourne, Vic : Harmony Alliance, 2021Description: electronic document (22 pages) ; PDF file: 1.7 MB.Subject(s): ATTITUDES | COVID-19 | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | ECONOMIC ASPECTS | EMPLOYMENT | FAMILY VIOLENCE | HELP SEEKING | INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE | MENTAL HEALTH | MIGRANTS | PANDEMICS | RACISM | REFUGEES | RESILIENCE | SOCIAL SERVICES | SUPPORT SERVICES | INTERNATIONAL | AUSTRALIAOnline resources: Download report, PDF, 1.7 MB | Access Harmony Alliance website Summary: At the end of 2020, Harmony Alliance held a series of consultations with our individual and organisational members across Australia. The consultations focussed on a range of issues concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant and refugee women. We held separate thematic sessions on the issues of women’s health, wellbeing, and safety, economic security, digital inclusion, and experiences of racism. The Alliance’s Young Women’s Advisory Group (YWAG) also held a targeted session on young migrant and refugee women’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant overlap in the concerns raised across all the sessions; for example, mental health impacts of COVID-19 were raised in relation to experiences of violence, racism, job losses, income insecurity, and digital inclusion. The key issues raised also affected different sub-groups of migrant and refugee women differently; for example, experiences with digital inclusion varied significantly between young and older migrant women. The overarching finding from the national consultation is that the concerns faced by migrant and refugee women in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Therefore, any solutions to these issues should be holistic and address all areas of migrant and refugee women ’s lives. At the same time, varying experiences based on different social locations and needs of individuals and sub-groups within the migrant and refugee women’s cohort should be taken into account. Despite the focus of our consultations on the negative impacts of COVID-19 on migrant and refugee women’s lives, we heard innumerable heartening stories of resilience, innovation, and leadership demonstrated by migrant and refugee women to help themselves and their communities in the face of adversity. Some examples include groups of women preparing and delivering food to those in lockdown/quarantine; using food delivery as a way of checking on other women’s wellbeing and safety and discretely providing information about domestic and family violence services; those with digital literacy and access helping other women with small home-based businesses transition to online trading; and women leading information campaigns about the virus and other related issues within their communities. Moving forward, migrant and refugee women’s leadership and innovation should be seen as a key resource to draw upon to enable equitable recovery from the pandemic. This report presents key issues faced by migrant and refugee women in the context of the pandemic, their resilience and leadership in dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, and essential considerations for policy responses to ensure equitable outcomes for migrant and refugee women in the recovery process. (From the document). Record #7489
Item type Current location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Access online Access online Family Violence library
Online Available ON22020022

National Consultation Report, February 2021

At the end of 2020, Harmony Alliance held a series of consultations with our individual and organisational members across Australia. The consultations focussed on a range of issues concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant and refugee women. We held separate thematic sessions on the issues of women’s health, wellbeing, and safety, economic security, digital inclusion, and experiences of racism. The Alliance’s Young Women’s Advisory
Group (YWAG) also held a targeted session on young migrant and refugee women’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a significant overlap in the concerns raised across all the sessions; for example, mental health impacts of COVID-19 were raised in relation to experiences of violence, racism, job losses, income insecurity, and digital inclusion. The key issues raised also affected different sub-groups of migrant and refugee women differently; for example, experiences with
digital inclusion varied significantly between young and older migrant women.

The overarching finding from the national consultation is that the concerns faced by migrant and refugee women in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Therefore, any solutions to these issues should be holistic and address all areas of migrant and refugee women ’s lives. At the same time, varying experiences based on different social locations and needs of individuals and sub-groups within the migrant and refugee women’s cohort should be taken into account. Despite the focus of our consultations on the negative impacts of COVID-19 on migrant and
refugee women’s lives, we heard innumerable heartening stories of resilience, innovation, and leadership demonstrated by migrant and refugee women to help themselves and their
communities in the face of adversity. Some examples include groups of women preparing and delivering food to those in lockdown/quarantine; using food delivery as a way of checking on other women’s wellbeing and safety and discretely providing information about domestic and family violence services; those with digital literacy and access helping other women with small
home-based businesses transition to online trading; and women leading information campaigns about the virus and other related issues within their communities. Moving forward,
migrant and refugee women’s leadership and innovation should be seen as a key resource to draw upon to enable equitable recovery from the pandemic.

This report presents key issues faced by migrant and refugee women in the context of the pandemic, their resilience and leadership in dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, and
essential considerations for policy responses to ensure equitable outcomes for migrant and refugee women in the recovery process. (From the document). Record #7489

Click on an image to view it in the image viewer