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Refugee Women: Key to the Global Compact on Refugees Logo
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Developed by Associate Professor Eileen Pittaway and Dr Linda Bartolomei, Graphics by Damayanthi Muthukumarage, Website by Anja Wendt



Supporting Evidence

Consolidated Data from Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh [2019-2020]

Refugee Women and Girls: Key to the Global Compact on Refugees

This reference document highlights evidence collected from over 600 refugee women from 10 ethnic communities based in Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh between 2019 and 2021. This evidence speaks to the common experiences of women and girls as reported at all three sites.  Recent work done in African Nations, Latin America and the Middle East also support these findings.

Given the strong focus on the importance of an Age Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach in the implementation of the GCR, the women and men in each of the three countries completed an exercise using the AGD matrix as a tool of analysis. They examined the different impacts of seven thematic areas through the lens of eight diverse groups.

Their analysis clearly demonstrated the intersectionality of issues for each age group. They were very frank in naming problems and were very clear about root causes, and the structural issues which both caused and exacerbated the problems.  While the intersectionality of the issues was clear in all thematic groups, the crosscut of SGBV, and the various barriers to participation across the majority of thematic areas were very stark.

The following data has been disaggregated on the basis of the seven key thematic areas and eight categories of diversity listed as follows:

Thematic Areas

  1. Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)
  2. Barriers To Participation And Decision Making
  3. Education
  4. Livelihoods And Jobs
  5. Protection Capacity
  6. Energy, Housing, Health, Food, Water And Infrastructure
  7. Durable Solutions

Categories of Diversity

  1. Girls 0 – 12 years
  2. Girls 13 -17 years
  3. Women 18 – 25 years
  4. Women 25 – 50 years
  5. Older Women
  6. Women with a disability
  7. LBTI Women
  8. Single Women and Single Mothers

Key Findings

Following the completion of the matrix activity as part of the reciprocal research methodology, refugee women and girls in each category of diversity reported the following findings against key thematic areas:

1. Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV)

2. Barriers to Participation & Decision Making

3. Education

4. Livelihoods & Jobs

5. Protection Capacity

6. Energy, Housing, Health, Food, Water And Infrastructure

7. Durable Solutions

Key Resources

Refugee Women and Girls: Key to the Global Compact on Refugees