Gender,refugee status and permanent settlement

This article examines how gender is implicated in the stages of defining a refugee, the refugee determination process, and the act of final settlement. After a general overview, specific details are presented for Canada. Canada admits refugees for the purpose of permanent settlement, and it has been the first on the international scene to develop gender-sensitive guidelines and to participate in the process of resettling women at risk of harm. However, data show that women are under-represented in the humanitarian-based flows to Canada. When they enter Canada, they are more likely than men to be married and to enter as spouses rather than as principal applicants. The author thanks Bela Hovy of the UNHCR, Geneva, and Janet Dench, Canadian Council for Refugees, for helpful comments on earlier drafts. Mr. Hovy also provided invaluable information on the world's refugee population and on the settlement activities of the UNHCR. The article also benefited from discussions with several persons at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The author takes full responsibility for all imperfections in the text.