Resilience and Survival: Refugee Women and Violence

Resilience has been said to be a particular quality of former-refugee women, many of whom have experienced torture, violence and intimidation in their countries of origin, during flight across borders, in refugee camps or detention and during resettlement. This article asks whether resilience is a useful concept in the context of refugee women's experiences of violence and whether there are any dangers associated with its use in this domain. It draws upon a series of interviews with 18 service providers in Victoria and South Australia to consider: the ways in which refugee women can be seen to be resilient; the significance of understanding resilience as a process rather than an individual trait; and, further, the importance of appreciating that the process of resilience can only materialise if responsibility for it is shared collectively.