ADAPTATION AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF REFUGEE WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES IN SASKATOON, CANADA.
Date
2018-09-14
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0000-0002-7341-9908
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
In their everyday lives, persons with disabilities are given the societal message that they are lesser human beings (Ingstad and White, 1995; Garland-Thompson, 2017). Although both men and women with disabilities experience different levels and variable forms of discrimination, disability disadvantages women more than men (Dossa, 2006; Dossa, 2009; El-Lahib & Wehbi, 2009). Women who have disabilities have fewer opportunities for education and work, and fewer chances of marriages compared to their male counterparts (Emmett & Alant, 2016; Prince, 2006; Siebers, 2013). These disadvantages are compounded for refugee women because a sense of belonging for refugee women with disabilities is determined by a complex interaction of personal characteristics, pre and post-migration experiences, and wider societal influences (Dossa, 2009). This research explored the experiences of refugee women with physical disabilities who have immigrated to Saskatoon. This thesis examines their stories to reflect on ways in which disability is understood and negotiated in the processes of immigration and re-settlement. The research also studied the needs and challenges refugee women with disability encounter settling and integrating into Saskatoon, and the coping strategies that they adopted. As the migration experience is gendered and affected by a number of factors, an intersectional analysis is employed to interrogate the various mediating factors in Canada. Feminist standpoint theory informs both the methodological approach and analysis of the experiences of integration of women with disabilities.
Description
Keywords
Refugee women, Disability
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Interdisciplinary Centre for Culture and Creativity
Program
Women's and Gender Studies