Negotiating survival: Central American Refugee women in Mexico and the politics of deservingness

Willers, Susanne

Negotiating survival: Central American Refugee women in Mexico and the politics of deservingness

dc.contributor.author	Willers, Susanne
dc.date.accessioned	2023-02-02T12:54:36Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-02T12:54:36Z
dc.date.issued	2022-12-19
dc.description.abstract	This article aims to analyse the difficulties Central American refugee women face when applying for refugee protection in Mexico and how they negotiate survival during this process. Claiming refugee protection is an important legal mechanism to ensure survival, but managing this process successfully is difficult, not only because of the bureaucratic complexities but also because of structural and political constraints. Research has addressed the difficulties migrant women face while in transit and in the United States, but there is less analysis on the limitations in accessing refugee protection in transit countries such as Mexico. Therefore, this article examines the main barriers women face by considering the social and spatial specifics of two different reception sites, the southern Mexican city of Tapachula and Mexico City, in the centre of the country. Drawing on ethnographic field research and interviews with refugees and practitioners, this research seeks to understand women’s agency in dealing with adversity in reception contexts. Analysis showed that women need to engage in micro‐level negotiations with gatekeepers in host communities to gain access to humanitarian assistance and social rights. In addition, it has showed that access to scarce resources depends on personal performance in terms of vulnerability and “deservingness.” This demonstrates the complexities refugee women encounter in the local context, but also the role of institutional constraints to humanitarian attention in contrast to an integral understanding of rights. Furthermore, the obstacles faced by refugees and the generation of uncertainty and waiting must be analysed as a political strategy to prevent effective access to asylum in Mexico.	de
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2003/41224
dc.identifier.uri	http://dx.doi.org/10.17877/DE290R-23068
dc.language.iso	en	de
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Social inclusion;Vol. 10, 2022, No 4, Pages 233–243
dc.subject	Deservingness	de
dc.subject	Gender	de
dc.subject	Mexico	de
dc.subject	Refugee protection	de
dc.subject	Social navigation	de
dc.subject	Social rights	de
dc.subject	Waiting	de
dc.subject.ddc	300
dc.subject.rswk	Geschlecht \|	de
dc.subject.rswk	Mexiko \|	de
dc.subject.rswk	Soziale Rechte \|	de
dc.subject.rswk	Flüchtling \|	de
dc.subject.rswk	Frau	de
dc.title	Negotiating survival: Central American Refugee women in Mexico and the politics of deservingness	de
dc.type	Text	de
dc.type.publicationtype	article	de
dcterms.accessRights	open access
eldorado.secondarypublication	true	de
eldorado.secondarypublication.primarycitation	Social inclusion. Vol. 10. 2022, No 4, Pages 233–243	de
eldorado.secondarypublication.primaryidentifier	https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v10i4.5739	de

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Name:: SI 10(4) - Negotiating Survival Central American Refugee Women in Mexico and the Politics of Deservingness-1.pdf
Size:: 180.44 KB
Format:: Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:

Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Name:: license.txt
Size:: 4.85 KB
Format:: Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:

Download

Collections

Migrationssoziologie