Seminar 1
Migration from Ukraine as a feminist issue. Why do we need gender mainstreaming in migration policies?
Presentation abstract:
By the end of February 2022, millions of Ukrainians had been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the west of the country or abroad, with many experiencing this for the second time. The scale of the migration crisis caused by Russian aggression is unprecedented in Europe, and such levels of migration have not been seen since the Second World War. Wars, conflicts and various crises are never gender-neutral because they affect the whole of society, which is itself not gender-neutral. However, in some cases, such as the mass influx of people from Ukraine into the EU, the gender issue is crucial, as more than 80% of these people are women with children. Therefore support measures and strategies to help people fleeing Ukraine, including the law, need to be appropriately tailored to the needs of this specific group, as migrant women, especially women fleeing war are exposed to intersectional discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity and precarious economic situation. I argue the need for gender sensitivity in migration policies by discussing the Ukrainian case and try to place it in the broader context of migration and feminist research.
Presenter's Bio:
Iuliia Lashchuk is is a researcher, migration activist and curator. She is a Max Weber Fellow working at the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute in Florence. Iuliia received her PhD (Summa Cum Laude) in philosophy from the University of Warsaw in 2021. She is focusing her research on the categories of otherness and strangeness with the specific focus on gender issues and female migration. Iuliia is interested in issues of identity, belonging, and diversity, as well as ethical dimensions of hospitality. She is a member of the Research Network on Ukrainian Migration.
