Community Work with Migrant and Refugee Women: 'Insiders' and 'Outsiders' in Research and Practice

Naomi Thompson · Rabia Nasimi · Marina Rova · Andy Turner

May 2022 · Emerald Group Publishing

About this ebook

Marginalised migrant groups face significant barriers in accessing services and becoming integrated in their communities. Mainstream services are failing to engage many marginalised migrant and refugee women and to respond effectively to their needs, raising serious questions as to how community development might respond and facilitate positive spaces and reduce isolation. Community Work with Migrant and Refugee Women: 'Insiders' and 'Outsiders' in Research and Practice outlines the implications for policy, practice and meaningful research with migrant and refugee women drawing on a three-year case study of a community-based organisation working with marginalised Muslim women in London.

Arguing for a bottom-up approach that centres on needs as well as assets, Community Work with Migrant and Refugee Women highlights the importance of cultural relevance of services, and a holistic approach to integration that acknowledges the full range of needs and experiences migrant and refugee women face.

Co-written by academic researchers and practitioner-researchers, this volume contributes to both academic and policy debates where there is a need for more research and policy that understands the experiences of migrant and refugee women as well as which interventions are effective.

About the author

Naomi Thompson is a sociologist of community, faith and inclusion. She is an applied researcher with a focus on co-production and on ensuring the voices of marginalised and excluded communities are heard.

Rabia Nasimi is a former Afghan refugee who fled Afghanistan in 1999. Whilst studying Sociology, she was extensively involved in running a refugee community organisation, a charity founded by her father to support refugee integration in the UK.

Marina Rova is a dance movement psychotherapist, and lecturer. She is programme convenor for the MA Dance Movement Psychotherapy programme at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Andy Turner has worked for over three decades in community and youth work, living and working in some of the poorest parts of England as a practitioner, manager, researcher, trainer and activist.