Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
UNICEF, Rome, Italy.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Aug 1;22(1):1469. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13866-7.
Migrant and refugee women have faced a myriad of challenges during COVID-19, which are often exacerbated by the interaction between this population's diverse identities and established systems in the local context. This qualitative study uses the lens of intersectionality to understand migrant and refugee women's experiences of gender-based violence and access to and quality of support services in Italy during the first year of COVID-19.
Data were gathered from 51 key informant interviews and eight focus group discussions of 31 participants. Key informants included service providers across sectors, including gender-based violence and anti-violence organizations, government and law, health, psychology, social work, and anti-trafficking administration. Focus group participants were migrant and refugee women aged 18-65 from the following countries of origin: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, El Salvador, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, and Syria. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using a collaborative process with partners from UNICEF. Transcripts were then evaluated for arising themes using three methods of intersectionality analysis.
Data analysis revealed how COVID-19 converged with sexism, racism, and xenophobia in Italy, leading to increased public and domestic violence against refugee and migrant women. Another prominent theme was the exacerbated vulnerability for refugee and migrant women in precarious socioeconomic situations, which prompted many service providers to recognize and address gaps in service offerings and coordination around basic needs. However, due to resource constraints and bias, providers did not systematically incorporate inclusive language and cultural mediation into remote and online services, creating a heightened barrier to access for non-Italian women despite their complex needs. As such, refugee and migrant women highlighted community-based solidarity and support as protective factors during lockdown periods.
Findings emphasize how overlapping dominant sociocultural and socioeconomic systems impacted refugee and migrant women's experiences of violence during COVID-19 in Italy, and how some support services were unprepared to respond to the complex needs of diverse, newcomer populations. We discuss how policymakers and practitioners might consider intersectionality in their preparedness and response planning for gender-based violence services during health emergencies moving forward.
在 COVID-19 期间，移民和难民妇女面临着诸多挑战，而这些挑战往往因该人群的多元身份与当地既定体系之间的相互作用而加剧。本定性研究采用交叉性视角，旨在了解意大利 COVID-19 大流行第一年期间移民和难民妇女遭受性别暴力的经历，以及她们获取和接受支持服务的机会和质量。
数据来自 51 名关键知情人的访谈和 8 个焦点小组讨论，参与者共 31 人。关键知情人包括来自各个领域的服务提供者，包括性别暴力和反暴力组织、政府和法律、卫生、心理、社会工作和打击人口贩运管理机构。焦点小组参与者是原籍国为孟加拉国、喀麦隆、哥伦比亚、萨尔瓦多、冈比亚、加纳、洪都拉斯、利比亚、尼日利亚、巴基斯坦、秘鲁、塞内加尔和叙利亚的 18-65 岁的移民和难民妇女。访谈以录音、逐字记录和合作编码的方式进行，合作方来自儿基会。然后，使用三种交叉性分析方法评估抄本中的出现主题。
数据分析揭示了 COVID-19 如何与意大利的性别歧视、种族主义和仇外心理相互作用，导致针对难民和移民妇女的公共和家庭暴力增加。另一个突出的主题是经济社会状况不稳定的难民和移民妇女的脆弱性加剧，这促使许多服务提供者认识到并解决基本需求服务提供和协调方面的差距。然而，由于资源限制和偏见，提供者并没有将包容性语言和文化调解系统纳入远程和在线服务，尽管非意大利妇女的需求复杂，但这给她们获取服务造成了更高的障碍。因此，难民和移民妇女强调在封锁期间社区的团结和支持是保护性因素。
研究结果强调了重叠的主要社会文化和经济社会体系如何影响意大利 COVID-19 期间难民和移民妇女遭受暴力的经历，以及一些支持服务机构如何未能应对多元化新移民群体的复杂需求。我们讨论了政策制定者和实践者在为今后的卫生紧急情况中的性别暴力服务做准备和应对时，如何考虑交叉性问题。
