The Gendered Security of the Refugee Journey
Juliet Colman, Founder and Director of SecurityWomen
Wednesday 12 May, 1pm-2pm, via Blackboard
Join us on 12 May to hear Juliet Colman discuss how conflict countries haemorrhage refugees and displaced people. The violence and lack of security experienced is different for women and girls, boys and men. Failure to deal with cases of abuse, lack of accountability in punishing perpetrators, and inadequate rule of law perpetuate the use of violence, which in turn leads to further displacement and the seeking of sanctuary.
From the ‘sending’ country, we move to the refugee/IDP settlements, which may be intended as temporary but in reality become near permanent. Here, culturally engrained gender-based violence continues and lack of security upholds a precarious existence. The practicalities of running a refugee/IDP camp require a gendered approach to ensure the safety and security of all its inhabitants. Often there is a preponderance of women and children where the adult men are absent due to fighting or have been killed in the conflict, and the security in the camps is often totally male.
The ‘receiving’ country for refugees has the opportunity to restore decency and dignity and better economic and social change, but that road is not an easy one, with potential hostility from the receiving community. The different approaches to security in the countries of Canada, USA and the UK are contrasted given the different refugee gender mix in each case. What role is there in the UK for housing in ex-military barracks as a temporary solution to the largely all male influx across the Channel?
Gender and security concerns are present in all three locations: the sending country, the receiving country and the passage between them.
No need to prebook, please click here on the day.
Decolonising Academia: Realisation and Beyond
In this seminar series ‘Decolonising Academia: Realisation and Beyond’, we focus on what ‘decolonisation’—a term that has gained much traction in recent times and has generated various critique—entails in academia, and the role of academics in challenging colonial structures that form the foundations of the modern world. This seminar series is organised by PhD researchers in International Development and Politics: Francesca Chiu, Touseef Mir, and Moé Suzuki, supported by the School of International Development and the University of Sanctuary.
Decolonisation: Meaning and significance of decolonising academia – Prof. Dibyesh Anand and Dr. Claire Hynes in conversation with PhD Researcher Touseef Mir
26 November 2020, 12pm-1pm
TO BOOK, visit: https://decolonisingacademiauea.wordpress.com/
The second session of this series will focus on the meaning and significance of ‘decolonisation’, and why academia in general and academics in particular should care about it. We invite Prof. Dibyesh Anand from the University of Westminster and Dr. Claire Hynes from UEA to discuss the theme in conversation with Touseef Mir, PhD researcher in International Development at UEA.
Professor Dibyesh Anand is the Head of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster and the Co-Chair of Westminster BME Network as well as EDI Committee. He identifies as queer in personal and political terms. Dibyesh is passionate about challenging the divide between academia and activism and believes in embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of life.
Dr. Claire Hynes is a lecturer in Literature & Creative Writing at the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia. She has worked in the Creative Industries as news editor for The Voice newspaper, BBC television producer, and writer for national newspapers, and is the recipient of Creative Industry awards including George Viner Memorial Award for Journalism.
Ms. Yuen Chan and Prof. Anshuman Mondal in conversation with PhD Researcher Francesca Chiu
22nd October, 12pm-1pm
To watch the recording of this seminar, please click here.
In this first seminar, we focus on The Politics of Being Apolitical. What does it mean to engage in politics as academics, and in academia? How might ‘non-engagement’ or claims about being ‘neutral’ serve as a form of politics in itself? We invite Ms. Yuen Chan from City, University of London and Prof. Anshuman Mondal from UEA to discuss this theme, in conversation with Francesca Chiu, PhD researcher in International Development at UEA.
Ms. Yuen Chan is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Journalism at the City, University of London. She is a journalist who has worked in print, television and radio as a reporter, anchor and presenter and columnist in Hong Kong and China.
Prof. Anshuman Mondal is the Professor of Modern Literature, specialising in post-colonial studies. He is the Chair of the Postcolonial Studies Association.