Navigating Refugee Life, UN Chronicle XLVII.1

In this article, Al-Sharmani highlights the international measures that are in place to combat violence against refugee and displaced women, and then summarizes in detail the UNHCR policies that address this violence. It is argued that, while the existence of these policies and measures is important, they need to do more to address the structural forms of violence against refugee and displaced women. Al-Sharmani notes that currently, structural causes are not adequately dealt with. The article raises the question of how to translate refugee and displaced women’s different experiences of violence into meaningful language and adequate policy measures that meet the needs of all women and protect their human rights. Al-Sharmani concludes with the argument that what is needed is policies that are grounded in a multidimensional understanding of the heterogeneous, complex and dynamic realities of displacement and violence.