How does poverty differ among refugees? Taking a gender lens to the data on Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Hanmer, L., Arango, D., Rubiano, E., Santamaria, J., & Viollaz, M.
Revise and resubmit, Middle East Development Journal
Many reports document the hardships experienced by refugees, highlighting that women and children are a highly vulnerable group among refugees. We combine registration data for Syrian refugees in Jordan collected by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with data from its Home Visit surveys to analyze income poverty rates among refugee households. We use an approach that captures the disruption to family structures that results from displacement to evaluate the poverty impacts, comparing refugee households with male and female principal applicants (PAs). We find that distinguishing between different types of female principal applicant households is important. Half of the nontraditional family type households with female PAs live below the poverty line compared to only one-fifth of nontraditional family type households with male PAs. Households that have formed because of the unpredictable dynamics of forced displacement, such as sibling households, unaccompanied children, and single caregivers, emerge as an extremely vulnerable group, especially if the principal applicant is a woman or a girl. We show that differences in household composition and individual attributes of male and female PAs are not the only factors driving increased poverty risk. Gender-specific barriers which prevent women accessing markets and services are also a factor. Our findings show that gender inequality amplifies the poverty experienced by a significant number of refugees. Our approach can be used to help policy-makers design more effective programs of assistance and find durable solutions for displaced populations.