The Health and Well-Being of Women and Girls Who Are Refugees: A Case for Action

The plight of displaced people is an escalating global challenge. No longer solely the domain of individuals working in humanitarian settings, the plight of refugees is now a very visible aspect in mainstream health and social services. Refugee women and girls face serious and interconnected health challenges due to forced displacement, limited access to healthcare, gender-based violence, exploitation, and other factors affecting their health and well-being, particularly social determinants of health. These experiences are often built upon intergenerational forms of abuse such as enduring colonial and patriarchal models where there are fundamental power imbalances and impediments to economic and political stability and as a consequence health and well-being. One in five displaced women and girls experiences sexual violence, which has lasting effects on their physical and mental health. Moreover, financial instability and uncertainty in migration status can further push women and girls into exploitative circumstances, such as modern slavery and survival sex. This paper presents a scoping review using a gender-based lens aimed at analyzing the social determinants impacting the health and well-being of refugee women and girls. The environmental, socio-economic, cultural, and gender-specific drivers of security are described. Advocating for strategies to promote health equity, protection, resilience, and empowerment for refugee women and girls is important for their health and well-being. Achieving this is critical in contributing towards building stronger, healthier, and resilient communities, and creating a buffer to the escalating numbers of people being driven from their homes worldwide.