Jenny Phillimore

The ongoing global displacement emergency characterised by increasing numbers of forced migrants needing refuge has prompted the exploration of alternative solutions to traditional refugee resettlement programmes. Complementary Pathways and Community Sponsorship have emerged as innovative approaches to refugee resettlement which often involves partnership between the state and civil society and potentially the private sector. These initiatives build on years of experience from Canada in the shape of their Private Sponsorship Programme. This paper contributes to the study of these initiatives as they emerge outside of Canada by establishing the state of knowledge on Complementary Pathways and Community Sponsorship. Through a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research on these programmes, we set out what is known, identify research gaps and outline a future research agenda. The review describes and synthesises works written in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, focussing on initiatives introduced outside Canada published post-2015 refugee ‘emergency’. The paper ends by setting out the ways in which the contributions which follow attend to some of the gaps in knowledge identified in the review thereby setting the foundations for this special issue.

Forced migration has reached unprecedented levels as millions are forced to seek refuge from conflict, persecution, and violence. This exodus includes women enduring the traumas of displacement alongside sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Upon reaching supposed places of refuge, they encounter the structural violence of immigration and asylum regimes. Against this backdrop, the intersection of SGBV, forced migration, and structural violence emerges as an urgent area of study. Drawing from extensive qualitative interviews in Australia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we set out to examine the impact of structural violence on the lives of forced migrant survivors of SGBV. The article introduces a novel framework to analyze how SGBV, forced migration and structural violence intersect and impact on the lives of survivors. The framework synthesizes (a) the intimate violence of dependency, (b) the slow violence of everyday life, and (c) the gender insensitivity characteristic of determination regimes. Survivors endure a range of injustices: the intimate violence of dependency traps women in controlling relationships; the asylum system’s slow violence leaves them in substandard and undignified conditions; and gender-insensitivity renders their SGBV experiences invisible, often retraumatizing survivors. Within this framework, we describe how these intersecting forms of structural violence underpinning immigration systems, systematically fail those at risk of SGBV, rendering them vulnerable to interpersonal violence instead of protecting them. We call for immigration and asylum systems to prioritize the protection and well-being of women, many of whom are SGBV survivors. As forced migrants face increasingly hostile statutory regimes, we must recognize and address the structural violence that perpetuates harm and denies them protection. Failure to act risks further perpetuating the cycle of violence, trauma and injustice, undermining principles of safety and refuge for those in dire need.

This paper presents the findings of a novel post-hoc analysis of data collected by Doctors of the World UK (DOTW UK) between 2020 and 2022 from people seeking asylum housed in repurposed hotels and barracks in England. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data on individuals’ mental and physical health using a structural violence analytical framework. Institutional housing and associated poor living conditions were reported to contribute deteriorations in physical and mental health which collectively undermined wellbeing. Inactions around urgent and life-threatening health conditions were seen as placing individuals’ lives and long-term health at risk. Provision of housing does not currently meet people’s needs and actively undermines their mental and physical health. We conclude that approaches to accommodation provision need to be adapted to ensure individuals’ right to health is realized. We outline recommendations for policy and future research.

The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Home Office is unprecedented and requires specific attention. Utilizing hotels on such a large scale as longer-term accommodation for asylum seekers has brought a new range of actors into this space who have responsibility for the day-to-day care of refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom have experienced high levels of trauma. The involvement of hoteliers and housing companies in hosting asylum seekers, individuals who by definition are guests seeking the hospitality of a nation state, suggests the need to unite two bodies of literature – on the hospitality industry and on the right to seek and enjoy asylum – in a way that sheds new light on conceptions of home and the broader theme of what it means to offer welcome. The concepts of homemaking and home-unmaking have until recently been largely absent from scholarship. We offer a new conceptual framework that brings together concepts of hospitality and home. We apply this framework to two case studies of recent incidents in asylum hotel accommodation to bring insight into the implications of such policies for host and guest communities.

Despite extensive criticism, integration policy has seen increasing resonance in many Western countries. Refugees are particularly susceptible to the effects of integration policy as, unlike other migrants, they do not have the option to return. Further, the nature of integration experiences has been shown to impact health and well-being, with positive experiences capable of moderating prior trauma. The primary focus of integration policy has been on self-sufficiency, with little attention paid to the ways in which refugees could be supported to live a good life. This article outlines a new framework, consisting of nine integration capabilities, which expand the focus on integration policy beyond the functional to cover a wide range of factors that enable or prevent refugees from flourishing in refuge. Applying the framework to two vignettes outlining the experiences of refugee survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, this article demonstrates how different forms of policy, both pre- and post-migration, shape individuals’ potential to flourish in refuge. This article ends by arguing that a capabilities approach has the potential to reframe integration policy, as the provision of freedoms and resources to develop capabilities and enable refugees’ functioning to flourish.

Review of: Superdiversity Migration and Social Complexity, Steven Vertovec (2023) Abingdon: Routledge, 250 pp., ISBN 978-0-41583-463-6, p/bk, £27.99 ISBN 978-0-41583-462-9, h/bk, £96.00

This article analyses challenges for civil society research in superdiverse areas and proposes ways to overcome them. Key components of previous studies are problematised, such as the lack of attention to demographic complexity, the focus on formally registered organisations at the expense of informal ‘below the radar’ initiatives, the over-reliance on analyses using administrative data and building on dichotomous categorisations of social capital. The article calls for scholars to develop methodologies and theory that enable research across the full range of civil society activity. We argue for a holistic approach to researching civil society through comparative and mixed-methods designs that facilitate research about the nature of civil society action, its forms, patterns and experiences. The concept of ‘superdiversity’ is useful to reflect evolving demographic complexity, given age, gender, nationality, religion and immigration status, and divergent experiences of rights and the labour market.