Forced displacement catalyzes a set of structural vulnerabilities for refugees – as they are separated from families, and subject to adverse conditions on the migration journey, with limited access to food, housing, income, and security.
Fortunately, there is growing awareness of the social and structural obstacles refugees face in this process, however, there is limited understanding of strategies refugees use in order to survive, including how refugees practice transactional sex, and how host countries can better serve the needs of refugees.
We are conducting the first multidisciplinary study examining transactional sex as a survival strategy in the context of forced displacement. Our study examines extent of this practice, its gendered nature, and the implications for the health of refugees in six countries: France, Greece, Lebanon, Jordan, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Our findings suggest there are clear structural factors compounding the conditions of vulnerability in specific countries and regions, with direct consequences for sexual and reproductive health (SRHR), and mental health (MH) among displaced women, men, and people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.
Our aim is to develop appropriate interventions to improve the policy and programmatic response to this hidden practice, and associated epidemics.
Ryan Whitacre 