Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

ACC 2024 Congress

Catch up on all the top stories and latest evidence in cardiology research with our ACC 2024 Congress hub page.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Women's Health
Published in: BMC Women's Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Life on the margins: the experiences of sexual violence and exploitation among Eritrean asylum-seeking women in Israel

Authors: Tsega Gebreyesus, Zebib Sultan, Habtom M. Ghebrezghiabher, Wietse A. Tol, Peter J. Winch, Nadav Davidovitch, Pamela J. Surkan

Published in: BMC Women's Health | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Eritrean migrants in Israel, the majority of whom are seeking asylum, have limited access to institutional support. While the temporary group protection granted to Eritreans by Israel ensures that they are not deported, it does not confer permanent legal status, nor does it allow access to the formal work sector. This study qualitatively explores how political and economic marginalization increases the risk of sexual and other forms of violence as well as the exploitation of Eritrean women asylum seekers living in Israel.

Methods

Twenty-five interviews with key informants, twelve individual interviews (six with men and six with women), and eight focus group discussions (four with men and four with women) were conducted among Eritreans of reproductive age in Tel Aviv, Israel. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using open, focused, and axial coding.

Results

Participants reported that Israel’s restrictive immigration policies laid the foundation for the political and economic marginalization of asylum seekers. This manifested in limited access to institutional support during and after arrival, and hindered access to formal employment and its associated protections. The Israeli government’s decision to grant provisional status with a stipulation banning Eritreans from the formal work sector was perceived to create direct and indirect conditions for a heightened sense of structural vulnerability, particularly for women. Participants reported that this structural vulnerability increased the risk of sexual and domestic violence in addition to the risk for the exploitation of women asylum seekers.

Conclusions

Israel’s immigration policies may contribute to women asylum seekers’ vulnerability to sexual violence upon arrival in their host country. These policies shape the social realities of women asylum seekers, potentially increasing their risk of violence and exploitation during their time in Israel. This study provides an example of the effects of political and economic marginalization on violence against women, a concept that may apply to other settings globally.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
The population size is an estimate and may have decreased due to self-deportation in recent years.
 
2
Structural violence is defined here as enduring “ubiquitous social structures, normalized by stable institutions and regular experience” [74] that result in disparate access to resources, political power, education, health care, and legal protections [75]. This social organization, ingrained in the political and economic structures, results in the continuance of inequality [76]
 
Literature
1.
Filc D, Davidovich N. Health care as a National Right? The development of health Care Services for Migrant Workers in Israel1. Soc Theory Health. 2005;3(1):1–15.CrossRef
2.
3.
Otsea K. Prioritizing reproductive health for refugees. Initiat Reprod Health Policy. 1999;3(1):1–3.PubMed
4.
Keygnaert I, Dialmy A, Manço A, Keygnaert J, Vettenburg N, Roelens K, Temmerman M. Sexual violence and sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco: a community-based participatory assessment using respondent driven sampling. Glob Health. 2014;10(1):32.CrossRef
5.
Willen SS: Transnational migration to Israel in global comparative context: Lexington books; 2007.
6.
Paz Y: Ordered Disorder: African Asylum Seekers in Israel and Discursive Challenges to an Emerging Refugee Regime. Working paper no. 205. In.: UNHCR; 2011.
7.
Sheen D. Racism report: Africans in Israel in. Israel: Tel Aviv; 2012.
8.
Gottlieb N, Filc D, Davidovitch N. Medical humanitarianism, human rights and political advocacy: the case of the Israeli open clinic. Soc Sci Med. 2012;74(6):839–45.CrossRefPubMed
9.
UNHCR: Displacement: The New 21st Century Challenge. In: UNHCR Global Trends 2012. UNHCR; 2012.
10.
Lior I: Two Eritreans granted refugee status in rare decision. In: Haaretz. Israel: Haaretz; 2014.
11.
Lior I: African asylum seekers due at Holot detention center today. In: Haaretz. Israel: Haaretz; 2014.
12.
Maya Kovaliyov SR. From one prison to another: Holot detention facility. In. Hotline for Migrant Workers: Tel Aviv, Israel; 2014.
13.
14.
FIC: Refugee Livelihoods in Urban Areas: Identifying Program Opportunities Case Study Israel. In. USA: Feinstein International Center, Tufts University; 2012.
15.
Humphris R. Refugees and the Rashaida: human smuggling and trafficking from Eritrea to Sudan and Egypt. In: New Issues in Refugee Research. Geneva: UNHCR; 2013.
16.
Connell D. Escaping Eritrea - why they flee and what they face. In: MER 264 - Pivot, Rebalance, Retrench. Middle East Research and Information Project: Washington, D.C; 2012.
17.
Radio UN: 4,000 Eritreans fleeing human rights violations every month. In: United Nations; 2013.
18.
19.
IOM: Glossary on Migration. In: International Migration Law - Glossary on Migration. Edited by Migration IOf. Geneva, Switzerland: International Office for Migration; 2004.
20.
Afeef KF: A promised land for refugees? Asylum and migration in Israel. In.: UN High Commissioner for Refugees; 2009.
21.
Bereketeab R: The Eritrean diaspora: myth and reality. The Role of Diasporas in Peace, Democracy and Development in the Horn of Africa 2007:79.
22.
Lior I. Number of asylum-seekers leaving Israel rises tenfold in two months. In: Haaretz. Haaretz: Israel; 2014.
23.
Falb KL, McCormick MC, Hemenway D, Anfinson K, Silverman JG. Violence against refugee women along the Thai–Burma border. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2013;120(3):279–83.CrossRef
24.
Falb KL, McCormick MC, Hemenway D, Anfinson K, Silverman JG. Symptoms associated with pregnancy complications along the thai-Burma border: the role of conflict violence and intimate partner violence. Matern Child Health J. 2014;18(1):29–37.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Falb KL, McCormick MC, Hemenway D, Anfinson K, Silverman JG. Suicide ideation and victimization among refugee women along the Thai-Burma border. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26(5):631–5.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Al-modallal H, Abu Zayed I, Abujilban S, Shehab T, Atoum M. Prevalence of intimate partner violence among women visiting health care centers in Palestine refugee camps in Jordan. Health Care Women Int. 2014;
27.
Byrskog U, Olsson P, Essén B, Allvin MK. Violence and reproductive health preceding flight from war: Accounts from Somali born women in Sweden. BMC Public Health. 2014:14(1).
28.
Canning V. International conflict, sexual violence and asylum policy: Merseyside as a case study. Crit Soc Policy. 2014;34(1):23–45.CrossRef
29.
García-Moreno C, Riecher-Rössler A. Violence against women and mental health. In. 2013;178:167–74.
30.
Hossain M, Zimmerman C, Watts C. Preventing violence against women and girls in conflict. Lancet. 2014;383(9934):2021–2.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Tankink MT. The silence of south-Sudanese women: social risks in talking about experiences of sexual violence. Cult Health Sex. 2013;15(4):391–403.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Bokore N. Suffering in silence: a Canadian-Somali case study. J Soc Work Pract. 2013;27(1):95–113.CrossRef
33.
Freedman J, Jamal B, Network E-MHR. Violence against migrant and refugee women in the Euromed region. Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network: Copenhagen; 2008.
34.
Baye EM-O, Heumann S. Migration, sex work and exploitative labor conditions: experiences of Nigerian women in the sex industry in Turin, Italy, and counter-trafficking measures. Gend Technol Dev. 2014;18(1):77–105.CrossRef
35.
Gershuni R. Trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution: the Israeli experience. Mediterr Q. 2004;15(4):133–46.CrossRef
36.
Peled E, Parker A. The mothering experiences of sex-trafficked women: between Here and there. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2013;83(4):576–87.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Gülçür L, İlkkaracan P: The “Natasha” experience: Migrant sex workers from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in Turkey. In: Women's Studies International Forum: 2002: Elsevier; 2002: 411–421.
38.
Cwikel JG, Lazer T, Press F, Lazer S. Sexually transmissible infections among female sex workers: an international review with an emphasis on hard-to-access populations. Sex Health. 2008;5(1):9–16.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Stewart E. Exploring the vulnerability of asylum seekers in the UK. Population, Space and Place. 2005;11(6):499–512.CrossRef
40.
41.
Galtung J. Violence, peace, and peace research. J Peace Res. 1969;6(3):167–91.CrossRef
42.
Farmer P. Pathologies of power: health, human rights, and the new war on the poor. North American Dialogue. 2003;6(1):1–4.CrossRef
43.
44.
Rhodes T. The ‘risk environment’: a framework for understanding and reducing drug-related harm. Int J Drug Policy. 2002;13(2):85–94.CrossRef
45.
Krefting L. Rigor in qualitative research: the assessment of trustworthiness. Am J Occup Ther. 1991;45(3):214–22.CrossRefPubMed
46.
Lincoln Y, Guba E: Naturalistic inquiry. 1985. VALLES, M Técnicas 2001.
47.
48.
Patton MQ: Qualitative evaluation and research methods: SAGE publications, inc; 1990.
49.
Charmaz K, Belgrave L: Qualitative interviewing and grounded theory analysis. The SAGE handbook of interview research: The complexity of the craft 2002, 2.
50.
51.
Leask J, Hawe P, Chapman S. Focus group composition: a comparison between natural and constructed groups. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2001;25(2):152–4.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Creswell JW: Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches: Sage publications; 2012.
53.
Gebreyesus T, Gottlieb N, Sultan Z, Ghebrezghiabher HM, Tol W, Winch PJ, Davidovitch N, Surkan PJ. Barriers to contraceptive careseeking: the experience of Eritrean asylum-seeking women in Israel. Ethn Health. 2017:1–18.
54.
Gebreyesus T, Sultan Z, Ghebrezghiabher HM, Singh N, Tol W, Winch PJ, Davidovitch N, Surkan PJ: Sexual violence en-route: Eritrean women asylum seekers experiences of sexual violence while migrating to Israel. Under Review.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
Thomas SL, Thomas SD: Displacement and health. Br Med Bull 2004, 69(1):115–127.
61.
Adanu RM, Johnson TR. Migration and women's health. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2009;106(2):179–81.CrossRef
62.
Llácer A, Zunzunegui MV, del Amo J, Mazarrasa L, Bolůmar F. The contribution of a gender perspective to the understanding of migrants’ health. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(Suppl 2):ii4–ii10.PubMedPubMedCentral
63.
Skjelsbæk I. Sexual Violence and War:: Mapping Out a Complex Relationship. Eur J Int Relat. 2001;7(2):211–37.CrossRef
64.
Groody DG, Campese G, Maradiaga ÓAR: A promised land, a perilous journey: theological perspectives on migration: University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame^ eIN IN; 2008.
65.
Hilsdon A-M: Migration and human rights: the case of Filipino Muslim women in Sabah, Malaysia Women's Studies International Forum 2006, 29(4):405–416.
66.
Pessar P. Women, gender and international migration across and beyond the Americas. Inequalities and limited empowerment. Expert group meeting on international migration and development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In. Edited by secretariat UN. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat; 2005.
67.
Pan S-M, Yang J-T. Outsiders in the family: abuse of migrant domestic Workers in Taiwan. Asian J Women's Stud. 2012;18(1):87. -117,128-129CrossRef
68.
Jureidini R: Migrant workers and xenophobia in the Middle East: UNRISD; 2003.
69.
Jureidini R, Moukarbel N. Female Sri Lankan domestic workers in Lebanon: a case of ‘contract slavery’? J Ethn Migr Stud. 2004;30(4):581–607.CrossRef
70.
Anderson MJ. A license to abuse: the impact of conditional status on female immigrants. Yale Law J. 1993:1401–30.
71.
Raj A, Silverman J. Violence against immigrant women: the roles of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women. 2002;8(3):367–98.CrossRef
72.
Perez M. Emergency frames: gender violence and immigration status in Spain. Fem Econ. 2012;18(2):265–90.CrossRef
73.
Burchill J. Safeguarding vulnerable families: work with refugees and asylum seekers. Community Pract. 2011;84(2):23–6.PubMed
74.
Gilligan J. Violence–reflections on a national epidemic. New York, NY: Vintage; 1997.
75.
Farmer P, Bourgois P, ScheperHughes N, Fassin D, Green L, Heggenhougen H, Kirmayer L, Wacquant L, Farmer P. An anthropology of structural violence. Curr Anthropol. 2004;45(3):305–25.CrossRef
76.
Metadata
Title
Life on the margins: the experiences of sexual violence and exploitation among Eritrean asylum-seeking women in Israel
Authors
Tsega Gebreyesus
Zebib Sultan
Habtom M. Ghebrezghiabher
Wietse A. Tol
Peter J. Winch
Nadav Davidovitch
Pamela J. Surkan
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Women's Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6874
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0624-y

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

BMC Women's Health 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research article

Normal/high-fat milk consumption is associated with higher lean body and muscle mass in Japanese women aged between 40 and 60 years: a cross-sectional study

Research article

Predictors of abnormal cytology among HPV-infected women in remote territories of French Guiana

Research article

Socio-demographic and behavioural profile of women in polygamous relationships in South Africa: a retrospective analysis of the 2002 population-based household survey data

Research article

Experiences of being screened for intimate partner violence during pregnancy: a qualitative study of women in Japan

Research article

Factors associated with deep infiltrating endometriosis versus ovarian endometrioma in China: a subgroup analysis from the FEELING study

Research article

Does women’s caste make a significant contribution to adolescent pregnancy in Nepal? A study of Dalit and non-Dalit adolescents and young adults in Rupandehi district