Description
Since the full-scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most adult refugees leaving Ukraine have been women. As such, understanding of the support networks to which Ukrainian refugees have access must be aligned through a gendered lens. Religion, be that churches, charities, or informal religious community, has played a key role in these support networks. From collecting refugees at the borders, providing aid in host communities, and facilitating support from the state and charities, religion has been heavily involved in supporting Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the conflict. However, the benefits of religious socialisation are not evenly distributed.
Drawing from data gathered for my PhD thesis, this paper explores the role gender on Ukrainian refugees’ access to social capital, and the role that refugee and non-refugee women have in constructing religious support networks. Through 25 qualitative interviews in the United Kingdom and Romania with Ukrainian refugees, religious leaders, and support providers, this paper employs constructivist understandings of identity and community. Initial findings indicate that religion mediates access to social capital for Ukrainian refugee women, while reproducing gendered hierarchies in support provision in the areas of childcare and housework
