Krause, Ulrike. 2021. Difficult life in a refugee camp: Gender, violence and coping in Uganda. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. pp. 250
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Author | Naohiko Omata |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13091 |
Refugee camps are established sites of protection for people fleeing from violent conflict and persecution. Yet, para-
doxically, violence frequently occurs inside these refuges. In Difficult Life in a Refugee Camp, Krause offers compelling
and nuanced insights into gender-related violence amongst refugees who escaped conflicts in Democratic Republic
of Congo (DR Congo). The book is based on her extensive research in Kyaka II refugee camp in Uganda in 2014.
The book consists of six chapters. The introduction presents the scope of the book and summarises scholarly
debates across major concepts, such as gender, violence, displacement and coping strategies. It also offers an histor-
ical overview of policy development relating to refugee women in the international refugee regime and the research
contexts of Uganda and especially Kyaka II camp. A key component of this chapter is the author's analytical approach;
Krause examines gender-related violence in the camp as a subject which is interrelated to the structure of humani-
tarian aid and perspectives of aid workers, changing gender roles and relations postdisplacement, as well as survival
struggles of refugees in challenging living environments. The chapter also includes a note on methodology; while the
research is based on mixed-methods approach, more weight is given to qualitative methods such as semistructured
interviews and focus group discussions.
Chapter 2 explores the forms, scopes and conditions of gender-based violence as it is experienced by refugees
in Kyaka II camp. The empirical materials offer insights into women and men in which they continuously refer to
the risks faced during the war in DR Congo. Refugees recalled diverse threats of murder, theft and discrimination in
addition to sexual abuse of women and militarised abduction and forced recruitment of men, as specific prevailing
dangers. However, flight and encampment entail their own dangers too. After leaving their homes en route to Uganda,
they continued to face risks similar to those in the conflict zones, including sexual and domestic abuse, structural
and cultural violence, and militarised dangers to varying degrees. These findings invite further enquiry into why
gender-based violence is so prevalent inside of the camp despite a range of humanitarian programmes to protect and
assist refugee women.
Chapter 3 attends to this question. Although humanitarian agencies strive to tackle gender-based violence
through provision of protection and assistance, research shows that their work can in fact contribute to perpetuating
violence. Krause demonstrates the ways in which humanitarian organisations in Kyaka II primarily define women
as victims, and therefore treat them as “vulnerable protection objects” whom aid workers strive to teach how to
be empowered. Such approaches not only represent the bio-political nature of humanitarian assistance but also
uphold the conventional roles of women as “good wives and mothers.” Through various aid measures, humanitarian
agencies have adopted powerful positions as relief providers while leaving refugees little room to participate in
BOOK REVIEW
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13091
Received: 1 November 2022 Accepted: 3 November 2022
324 Int Migr. 2023;61:324–326.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
Krause, Ulrike. 2021. Difficult life in a refugee
camp: Gender, violence and coping in Uganda.
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. pp. 250.
Naohiko Omata
Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Email: naohiko.omata@qeh.ox.ac.uk
© 2022 The Authors. International Migration © 2022 IOM.
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