NEW REFUGEE REPORT SHOWS PRIORITIZING GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP OF WOMEN AND GIRLS CRUCIAL TO ACHIEVING UN SDGs

USA - English

• USA - English

NEW YORK (PRWEB) June 20, 2023 -- “They saw the ship that was going to take them to Italy. It was… something that could crack anytime. But, she did not look back. I will die in the sea or I will go back and die there. She had to swim to the [boat]. If you did not know how to swim, you died… She did not know how to swim, but she got in the water. The man who was with her… helped her to get to the boat, because he did not want to go back. If they died, they died with each other."

A new report published on World Refugee Day on the 20th June, 2023, shows that feminist interventions prioritizing compassion and connection have a demonstrably positive impact on mental well-being and help to empower women and girls to serve their communities.

The report, from Footage Foundation, is based on research* with refugee women and girls that started in 2016. Titled Compassion, Connection and Forced Displacement, it comes at a time when it’s clear that the world is not on track to meet the 2030 deadline for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and goals – UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5. Around the world a growing backlash against women’s rights is threatening even well-established freedoms and protections.

Furthermore, according to the United Nations Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR), an estimated 281 million people, approximately 3.6% of the world’s population, live outside their country of origin. In 2022 UNHCR reported that the global number of forcibly displaced people passed 100 million for the first time.

In the context of the refugee crisis, not only do girls and women make up more than half of the refugee population, research from the UN shows that girls’ and women’s vulnerability sharply increases during times of crisis, conflict, and displacement as they travel alone, often without safe means of supporting themselves and their children. Many of the participants in Footage’s narrative research are also seeking asylum from interpersonal physical and emotional violence and/or economic violence.

Participants in Footage’s programs and those who told their stories as part of this research shared harrowing experiences. Women like Helene (not her real name), who escaped ISIS in Iraq and experienced continued abuse and exploitation as she traveled across the Middle East to seek sanctuary. She shared her story after arriving in Greece, along with her husband.

“People say human rights are in Europe, but I came here, and did not find any human rights. I did not come here to take things; I came here to tell my story and to say to the world what I have been through. I hope this interview is put into the world, because people feel forgotten.” - Helene

“The unprecedented global refugee crisis amid the intersecting crises of COVID-19, the climate emergency, and rising economic and political insecurity has meant that progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls has not only failed to move forward, alarmingly it has begun to reverse. If there is any hope of making progress towards achieving this Sustainable Development Goal, SDG5, and a number of related SDGs that significantly impact women and girls, we need a bold and compassionate response,” says Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton co-founder and Executive Director of Footage Foundation.

Dr. Eglinton is an ethnographer and leads Footage Foundation’s ongoing research project. “During the transition from migration to resettlement, much of the attention and resources of host and transit countries is directed to providing shelter, food, healthcare and security. Of course these basic human needs are primary. However, compassion, along with connection, is integral to the mental health of refugees, and fundamental for sustainable and positive social change.

“Our qualitative research among young women on experiencing displacement shows that they find little compassion,” says Dr. Eglinton. “At Footage, as a feminist organization, our emphasis is on girls and young women especially the most marginalized. This report demonstrates how our programs provide connection — a community for women on the frontlines of gender inequality where their ideas matter and their voices count,” she explains.

Footage programs and methods use feminist principles of voice, radical inclusion, compassion and collaboration to inspire real tangible social action. The methods used are participatory, and break down hierarchies between researchers and communities, between organizations and those they serve.

“Our methods,” says Dr. Eglinton, “embody the phrase ‘nothing about us, without us’ – meaning our greatest focus is on the importance of impact and generating data rich in voice and narrative and lived experiences that we can use to understand people’s lives better in a way that brings about change from the ground up.

“By acknowledging the profound significance of compassion and connection, while championing the voices and agency of young women, we can pave the path towards a world where compassion guides our collective journey. Through the integration of compassion and connection, we foster societies that are both inclusive and compassionate, ultimately promoting sustainable wellbeing and driving transformative social change.”

Based on the report findings Footage Foundation is calling for policy makers to incorporate its methodologies into programs working with displaced and marginalized communities. Footage makes recommendations for five key strategies to bring about a significant and sustainable impact especially among the most marginalized communities, towards achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

Recommendations include:

• The power of narrative/storytelling should be harnessed to foster connection and decrease social isolation;
• Ensuring a trauma informed methodological approach and use of digital storytelling and arts-based media that facilitate expression of emotions, experience and thoughts should be prioritized;
• Education is a critical human right and a space of connection. Educational approaches should align with local communities in which the displaced find sanctuary while at the same time aligning with the needs and aspirations of young women;
• Theoretical and framework considerations should ensure that policy is centered on the most marginalized and prioritizes the needs of women and girls by creating safe spaces at micro (individual), meso (community) and macro (wider socio-cultural, ecological, political and geographical) levels. Interventions should always be conducted through an intersectional lens considering equity and gender as well as race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity;
• Finally and importantly, policy should acknowledge and honor young women’s compassionate leadership. Forcibly displaced women and girls are most vulnerable yet remain leaders in building communities. They are crucial social agents at the grassroots.

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“This work, over the course of over six years, has been funded by individual donors and independent research. The data we’ve generated shows that when young women actively engage in programming that centers their voices, seeks their input on their own needs and those of their communities, and supports them in making the world a better place through, for example, human-centered design, digital storytelling, and other technologies, they embody the qualities of leaders. Indeed more than just exceptional leaders, they embody the principles of "compassionate" leaders — as they create and nurture spaces that amplify the brilliance of others, facilitating healing, creation, and the realization of better futures. If we are to achieve any of the SDGs by 2030 we need to prioritize SDG5 and focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as leaders,” concludes Dr. Eglinton.

To register to receive a copy of the report and future reports in the series: Explorations of Compassion: The Lived Experiences of Young Women Refugees and their Communities, please email: mailto:[email protected] [[email protected] __title__ null] with your contact details.

Jenny Caven, Footage Foundation, http://www.footageproject.org, 44 7810585732, [email protected]