Peer-reviewed article
The refugee waves and the continuum of violence experienced by Ukrainian refugee women in Bulgaria.
Pamporov A ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines violence experienced by Ukrainian refugee women and girls in Bulgaria since 2022, using survey data from UNHCR and UNICEF combined with grounded theory analysis. The research identifies how arrival timing, travel means, and accommodation choices shape exposure to gender-based violence, including survival sex. Institutional features of Bulgaria's accommodation programme and country-specific factors like institutional neglect and cultural myths about sexual violence increase vulnerability.
Key points
- Certain institutional features of Bulgaria's state accommodation programme for individuals with temporary protection status expose women and girls to additional risks of gender-based violence, including survival sex
- The vulnerability of Ukrainian refugees is exacerbated by institutional neglect of violence against women and girls, widespread acceptance of cultural myths related to sexual violence, and national stereotypes targeting Ukrainians
- Period of arrival, means of arrival, and type of accommodation selected reflect survival strategies of refugee women and influence their exposure to community-based and transnational gender-based violence
- The analysis confirms patterns of 'slow violence' and 'violence of uncertainty' affecting Ukrainian women and girls in Bulgaria
- Study draws on triangulation of three quantitative surveys commissioned by UNHCR and UNICEF, plus three waves of randomized socio-economic survey
Limitations
As a secondary analysis of existing surveys, the study cannot establish causal relationships or test specific interventions. The analysis focuses on Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria and may not be generalizable to other refugee populations or host countries.
Abstract
This article examines the continuum of violence experienced by Ukrainian refugee women in Bulgaria over the past 3 years, following the full-scale invasion by the Russian army. The study draws on a secondary analysis and triangulation of three quantitative surveys commissioned by UNHCR and UNICEF in Bulgaria, along with three waves of a randomized socio-economic survey funded by UNHCR. Employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, the article proposes a typology of several refugee waves. It argues that the period of arrival, the means of arrival, and the type of accommodation selected reflect the survival strategies of refugee women and may influence their exposure to both community-based and transnational gender-based violence (GBV). The findings indicate that certain institutional features of Bulgaria's state accommodation programme for individuals with temporary protection status expose women and girls to additional risks of GBV, including survival sex and relocation to areas associated with commercial sex work. The vulnerability of Ukrainian refugees is further exacerbated by three country-specific factors: institutional neglect of violence against women and girls; widespread acceptance of cultural myths related to sexual violence; and prevailing national stereotypes targeting Ukrainians and, more broadly, women from certain Slavic backgrounds. The analysis clarifies the various forms of the continuum of violence affecting the Ukrainian women and girls in Bulgaria and confirms the patterns of "slow violence" and the "violence of uncertainty," observed in the Eastern Mediterranean region by other international studies.