Victimization of Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium: Sexual Violence and Help-Seeking Behavior
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Are AIPs residing in Belgium vulnerable to sexual victimization?
- In which context does sexual victimization in AIPs occur?
- How does sexual victimization impact AIPs?
- Do AIPs residing in Belgium seek help upon sexual victimization?
2. Methods
2.1. Ethical Considerations
2.2. Research Design
2.3. Measures
2.3.1. Quantitative Data Collection
2.3.2. Qualitative Data Collection
2.4. Sample
2.5. Data Analysis
2.5.1. Quantitative Data Analysis
2.5.2. Qualitative Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sexual Victimization in Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium
3.1.1. Nature of Sexual Victimization
3.1.2. What Is Sexual Violence According to Applicants for International Protection?
“Sexual violence to me is, any sexual act aims, like one side wants it but the other side refuses it and it happens whether due to pressure on them, or by hitting them, so the other side is not, like one side is accepting and the other is not.”(Ahmad, 31 years old)
3.1.3. Who Are the Assailants of Sexual Violence against AIPs?
3.2. Context of Sexual Violence
“…but you know, we are actually very, we are fragile there, we are very vulnerable in those places…. I think the homeless, they suffer even more than refugees. Refugees have some kind of shelter anyway. They can go somewhere for, like shelter or they get food or…. But homeless people, I think homeless people go through much, um, much more than we do, as refugees…. Indeed, as long as you don’t have valid papers or provisional papers or…. then danger lurks around every corner.”(Youssef, 31 years old)
“They know our weaknesses, they think we are in a weak position, and they actually want to take advantage of that…. Yes, they know of course that we live on the streets. That we have to spend the night somewhere. They sometimes offer alternatives, or even money, also money to go with them. But yes, that is actually a bit painful, because that is not what we are here for either. I have other concerns on my mind. I am a refugee.”(Cristiano, 25 years old)
3.3. Impact of Sexual Victimization on Applicants for International Protection
“Why he [assailant] broke me, why I am here? Why in Turkey what happened to me, in Greece what happened to me?… Why I lost my money on my way, why the smugglers take my money and they put me in the boat. I stay one day in the water, I become in one island for one year and nine months, in like prison. I sleep in the tent. Why all this happening to me?… Why I become refugee?… But what I should be: next to the people they need me. It’s something like happy idea and I am here, and I left. I left my life, my stories, my everything, my mom, my father.”(Ali, 26 years old)
“…We actually fled our country because of violence, war, unsafety, a lot of negative things and we are here in Europe to, to find a safe haven actually. Peace! We don’t want violence, we don’t want to be raped, we don’t want to be assaulted. So those are things that we don’t want at all. So, our goal is just to have a normal and safe life in Europe.”(Youssef, 31 years old)
“I am not stupid also, I’m trying to be smart, I’m thinking, I have a plan, always when I see the door for example. I do plan, and I see close the border, the border is closed, I try to pass the way, to find the border or find the place I can move, or I can do my plans.”(Ali, 26 years old)
3.4. Help-Seeking Behaviour of Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium upon Sexual Victimization
3.4.1. Do Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium Disclose Sexual Victimization?
3.4.2. The Process of Seeking (In)Formal Help upon Sexual Victimization
“In Africa, I didn’t talk about it, but here [in Belgium] when I arrived, well like I needed someone who could hear me actually, who could understand what…when we are girl, I get angry from around me and they don’t even know what is going on now.”(Fatoumata, 23 years old)
“I have a lot to say but I can hardly say anything, even to the social workers or to other people, because they always look at you differently. For example, I have a sick daughter now…she really needs a psychologist because she’s just depressed. She’s been through a lot…, but still some people keep saying ‘yeah maybe she’s just doing that because she wants to get papers this way or something’, so that makes you even more…. There are communities that have a bad, a bad impression from the moment a psychologist comes along.”(Elen, 48)
“I didn’t feel well. I was sick. I didn’t feel well at all, but nobody noticed, but I knew what had happened and then I told my mother. I told her, when she wasn’t there, when Mr. came here there was nobody there and Mr. raped me. My mother she told me ‘Mr. can’t do that,’ how he can’t do that. I told her, ‘Mr. did it to me’ because…she told me ‘No, Mr. didn’t do it’ and I showed her the sheets.”(Fatoumata, 23 years old)
“So, I never sought help because I was afraid that I…I didn’t trust people anymore. So, I was afraid that if I tell people something, they will always want something from me. So, when I went to the people I was telling my story to, I, I, that’s why I had closed myself off a bit and chosen not to tell anything. So that’s why I was, that’s what I was afraid of.”(Majohoul, 33 years old)
“For example, last month I had a visitor, a friend. He’s from Switzerland…. I really, I cried with him, I speak with him a lot. Like, I don’t know, I speak from my heart. I need it. Maybe it was the help I asked…. If I tell this story to… I feel, I don’t know…. Iraqi, Syrian, Palestinian, Moroccan, Irani, Afghan, I speak all their language, so I know their culture also. I will never talk about it with them, or I would never like they know about this.”(Ali, 26 years old)
“What I did after, only I, my friend when he sees me like this he say ‘I can do whatever you want, I stay with you’. Of course, we went to this guy [Ali’s friend], to his home, he was, I had his name, and I know him very well, we went to his home, because I feel ashamed to tell my family, to tell my brothers, and also I feel ashamed to tell this friend who is with me. Just I told him… I make fire his [the assailant] car, his home….”
“My intention was actually to also remain anonymous and as soon as possible [to leave] Egypt, because my intention was not to stay in Egypt, so the more that you assert yourself, the sooner they [the persons for whom he was fleeing] will get you. So, I, my intention was to flee Egypt too…. Even if I had to go to the police, and okay, I’ll report it. And after that? Hey, that probably wouldn’t work out anyway… so, if they [the persons for whom he was fleeing] had to know about what was going on, they could also do something to me. So, I was actually, I was in a cocoon, I was stuck.”(Majohoul, 33 years old)
“And our solution is time, too much time. With God you can be better, but it will be very quiet, very quiet, secret, something like this. They have to…. Maybe I have psychological problems, but I go to my doctor, and I cannot talk to him. I say to him ‘I cannot sleep’, for example, ‘ah, okay, maybe you can try stress tea’. Maybe, because, something, some people, they don’t understand.” He went on to say:
“I just call my friend and I told him something like ‘behead me, they take me’, but I didn’t say to him what happened….”(Ali, 26 years old)
“So, when I started to talk, I started to feel good but then I said to myself why aren’t you here [in the present], it’s done anyway, it’s not going to change so you better, well with that, it is over…. I don’t want to look back [in therapy] when I don’t want to think about it anymore. Sometimes I even made progress with my daughters. I don’t want to look back every time…. I don’t want to talk about it. I want to look at my future, what is a possible here, what can I do here, what, me and my daughters how are we going to get out of this. Well, I need to put all this in my head, forget and all that and if it is to talk more and more, no I can’t manage. It’s too much, even in the office I got a little, I got a little lost. I’m tired, but she [the therapist] understood that I’m tired in fact. I could not, no.”(Fatoumata, 23 years old)
3.4.3. AIPs’ Recommendations to Prevent Sexual Victimization and to Improve Care upon Victimization
4. Discussion
4.1. Sexual Violence, Its Impact, and Help-Seeking Behavior upon Sexual Victimization in AIPs
4.2. Strengths, Limitations, and Suggestions for Future Research
5. Conclusions
6. Recommendations
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | M(SD), Range | n | % | % SV | M(SD), Range SV | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex at birth | Female | - | 15 | 24.2 | 80.0 | - |
Male | - | 47 | 75.8 | 85.1 | - | |
Age in years | 32.5 (10.2), 16–61 | - | 32.4 (9.5), 16–61 | |||
Months in Belgium | 10.8 (11.2), 0–60 | - | 9.9 (9.5), 0–36 | |||
Education level | Primary or none | - | 14 | 22.6 | 78.6 | - |
Secondary | - | 25 | 40.3 | 80.0 | - | |
Higher | - | 23 | 37.1 | 91.3 | - | |
Occupational status | Active a | - | 6 | 9.7 | 100.0 | - |
Student | - | 20 | 32.3 | 85.0 | - | |
Inactive or other b | - | 36 | 58.1 | 80.6 | - | |
Sexual orientation | Heterosexual | - | 55 | 88.7 | 83.6 | - |
Non-heterosexual c | - | 6 | 9.7 | 100.0 | - |
Lifetime | Past 12-Months | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Item | N | % | n | % |
Any sexual victimization | 52 | 83.9 | 38 | 61.3 |
Any hands-off sexual victimization | 49 | 79.0 | 36 | 58.1 |
Sexual staring | 30 | 48.4 | 17 | 27.4 |
Sexual innuendo | 20 | 32.3 | 14 | 22.6 |
Showing sexual images | 27 | 43.5 | 22 | 35.5 |
Sexual calls or texts | 25 | 40.3 | 16 | 25.8 |
Voyeurism | 5 | 8.1 | 2 | 3.2 |
Distributing sexual images | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 |
Exhibitionism | 17 | 27.4 | 9 | 14.5 |
Forcing to show intimate body parts | 8 | 12.9 | 3 | 4.8 |
Any hands-on sexual victimization | 29 | 46.8 | 13 | 21.0 |
Any sexual abuse | 27 | 43.5 | 12 | 19.4 |
Kissing | 21 | 33.9 | 8 | 12.9 |
Touching in care | 16 | 25.8 | 7 | 11.3 |
Fondling/rubbing | 15 | 24.2 | 8 | 12.9 |
Forced undressing | 8 | 12.9 | 8 | 12.9 |
Any rape | 15 | 24.2 | 5 | 8.1 |
Oral penetration | 3 | 4.8 | 1 | 1.6 |
Attempt of oral penetration | 10 | 16.1 | 2 | 3.2 |
Vaginal or anal penetration | 7 | 11.3 | 1 | 1.6 |
Attempt of vaginal or anal penetration | 7 | 11.3 | 1 | 1.6 |
Forcing to penetrate | 4 | 6.5 | 1 | 1.6 |
Females (n = 15) | Males (n = 47) | Fisher’s Exact Test | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type Sexual Victimization | Lifetime n (%) | Past 12 Months n (%) | Lifetime n (%) | Past 12 Months n (%) | Lifetime SV | Past 12 Months SV |
Any sexual victimization | 12 (80.0) | 8 (53.3) | 40 (85.1) | 30 (63.8) | 0.693 | 0.548 |
Any hands-off sexual victimization | 12 (80.0) | 8 (53.3) | 37 (78.7) | 28 (59.6) | 1.000 | 0.767 |
Any hands-on sexual victimization | 8 (53.3) | 3 (20.0) | 21 (44.7) | 10 (21.3) | 0.767 | 1.000 |
Sexual abuse | 7 (46.7) | 3 (20.0) | 20 (42.6) | 9 (19.1) | 1.000 | 1.000 |
Rape | 6 (40.0) | 2 (13.3) | 9 (19.1) | 3 (6.4) | 0.163 | 0.587 |
Gender | Lifetime Sexual Victimization (n = 46) (%) | Past 12 Months Sexual Victimization (n = 38) (%) |
---|---|---|
Man | 41.3 | 36.8 |
Woman | 41.3 | 39.5 |
Unknown | 17.4 | 23.7 |
Lifetime Sexual Victimization (n = 52) (%) | Past 12 Months Sexual Victimization (n = 38) (%) | |
---|---|---|
(Ex)Partner | 9.6 | 7.9 |
Family member | 5.8 | 7.9 |
Friend | 5.8 | 34.2 |
Date | 26.9 | 13.2 |
Authority figure | 7.7 | 10.5 |
Colleague/Classmate | 19.2 | 23.7 |
Acquaintance | 17.3 | 18.4 |
Unknown | 59.6 | 63.2 |
Item | Scale | Outcome | N | % | % SV | χ2/t; df; p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Depression | PHQ-9 | No | 14 | 22.6 | 85.7 | 0.775; 60; 0.441 * |
(α = 0.829) | Mild | 20 | 32.3 | 80.0 | ||
Moderate | 14 | 22.6 | 100.0 | |||
Moderately severe | 8 | 12.9 | 75.0 | |||
Severe | 6 | 9.7 | 66.7 | |||
Anxiety | GAD-7 | No | 15 | 24.2 | 86.7 | 1.684; 60; 0.097 * |
(α = 0.857) | Mild | 21 | 33.9 | 95.2 | ||
Moderate | 24 | 22.6 | 71.4 | |||
Severe | 12 | 19.4 | 75.0 | |||
PTSD | PC-PTSD-5 | Yes | 35 | 56.5 | 85.7 | 0.735° |
Hazardous alcohol use | AUDIT-C | Yes | 7 | 11.3 | 100.0 | 0.586° |
Sedative use | NA | Lifetime | 29 | 46.5 | 86.2 | 0.738° |
Past 12 months | 21 | 33.9 | 85.7 | 1.000° | ||
Cannabis use | NA | Lifetime | 13 | 21.0 | 92.3 | 0.673° |
Past 12 months | 13 | 21.0 | 92.3 | 0.673° | ||
Illegal drug use | NA | Lifetime | 1 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.161° |
Past 12 months | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | / | ||
Suicide attempt | NA | Lifetime | 9 | 14.5 | 88.9 | 1.000° |
Past 12 months | 9 | 14.5 | 88.9 | 1.000° | ||
Self-harm | NA | Lifetime | 10 | 16.1 | 70.0 | 0.343° |
Past 12 months | 7 | 11.3 | 57.1 | 0.076° |
Variable | n (%) | n (%) a | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Disclosure b | Yes | 20 (38.5) | Partner | 2 (10.0) |
(n = 52) | Parent | 2 (10.0) | ||
Other family member | 5 (25.0%) | |||
Friend | 14 (70.0%) | |||
Acquaintance | 2 (10.0%) | |||
Professional help | Yes | 2 (3.8%) | Medical specialist (no psychiatrist) | 1 (50.0%) |
(n = 52) | Mental health care worker (incl. psychiatrist) | 1 (50.0%) | ||
Police | Yes | 0 (0%) | ||
(n = 46) |
Item | n | % |
---|---|---|
Barriers to Contact Professional Help (n = 42) | ||
Reasons linked to the victim
| 25 | 59.5 |
Reasons linked to others
| 9 | 21.4 |
Reasons linked to accessibility
| 2 | 4.8 |
Other reasons | 6 | 14.3 |
Barriers to contact police (n = 46) | ||
Reasons linked to the victim
| 21 | 45.7 |
Reasons linked to the assailant
| 5 | 10.9 |
Reasons linked to accessibility
| 2 | 4.3 |
Reasons linked to the police
| 9 | 19.6 |
Other reasons | 9 | 19.6 |
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De Schrijver, L.; Nobels, A.; Harb, J.; Nisen, L.; Roelens, K.; Vander Beken, T.; Vandeviver, C.; Keygnaert, I. Victimization of Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium: Sexual Violence and Help-Seeking Behavior. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 12889. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912889
De Schrijver L, Nobels A, Harb J, Nisen L, Roelens K, Vander Beken T, Vandeviver C, Keygnaert I. Victimization of Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium: Sexual Violence and Help-Seeking Behavior. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(19):12889. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912889
Chicago/Turabian StyleDe Schrijver, Lotte, Anne Nobels, Jonathan Harb, Laurent Nisen, Kristien Roelens, Tom Vander Beken, Christophe Vandeviver, and Ines Keygnaert. 2022. "Victimization of Applicants for International Protection Residing in Belgium: Sexual Violence and Help-Seeking Behavior" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 19: 12889. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912889