Women Refugees’ Media Usage: Overcoming Information Precarity in Germany

Abstract

This study examines how women refugees in Hamburg, Germany, many arriving either as minors or unaccompanied minors (now young adults), managed to overcome information precarity resulting from limited access to the internet and/or traditional media, while experiencing constantly-changing living conditions. Findings from 32 semi-structured interviews with refugee women from various countries show that their perception of precarity was amplified by limited internet access. Refugee women actively sought to overcome this precarity, exhibiting resourcefulness in finding ways to access the internet, digital media, and information and communication technology tools. This study does not exclusively focus on mobile phone use, but the findings indicate that mobile phones represent a lifeline for refugee women that is as vital as food or shelter.

Keywords:

• Women refugees
• media usage
• Germany
• precarity
• mobile phones

Notes

1 BAMF is the German acronym for the Federal Office of Migration and Refugees.

2 Youth flats (Jugendwohnungen) are assisted living facilities for teenagers aged 15–21, managed by the youth office (Jugendamt), a local agency in charge of the welfare of children.

3 Stadteilschule is a type of school in the city of Hamburg that was introduced in 2010, which replaced and unified all other secondary German school types.

4 Gymnasium provides advanced secondary education and is comparable to British grammar schools or US preparatory high schools.

5 Subsidiary protection applies when neither refugee protection nor an entitlement to asylum, based on probability of serious harm in their country of origin, can be granted (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees).

6 As of August 2018, Syrians who are categorized as refugees with limited protection status (subsidiary protection) are permitted to reunite with their families (underaged children and partners). Parents of unaccompanied minors are also permitted to join their children (BAMF).

7 Singles receive 135 euros, couples 122 euros each, and minors aged 14–17 years 76 euros per month. Accommodation and clothing are provided by the relevant local government jurisdiction (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection).

8 A German lawyer Anja Lederer with support of a local NGO published an expert opinion on the right to free access to the internet in refugee accommodation in May 2020. Lederer refers to different legal bases at the human rights level which sees digital access as a basic human right, among other rights (Flüchtlingsrat, 2020).