Protection vertical bar Victimisation vertical bar Agency? Gender-sensitive Perspectives on Present-day Refugee Camps

Abstract

All over the world, refugee camps serve as humanitarian spaces for the protection and assistance of refugees in host countries. But how do these camps function, which effects do camp structures have on refugees, and how do they cope with these effects? These questions form the core of this article. By drawing on the growing multidisciplinary b ody of literature and, in part, original research conducted with refugees in Uganda, practices of humanitarian agencies as well as refugees in camps are explored from a gender-sensitive perspective. The article shows how camps are shaped by various forms of ambivalence, including provisional setups vs. protracted situations, protection measures vs. insecurity, female victims vs. male perpetrators or actors, and territorial inclusion vs. social exclusion. Based on that, it is argued that refugee camps are neither `neutral' spaces of humanitarianism nor `safe harbours' for refugees but purposefully established enterprises in which women, men, girls, boys, and other people determined as refugees (try to) create meaningful lives, despite the adversities they face.