Being a father and a refugee

Being a father and a refugee: Comparing men’s fatherhood and family ‘integration’ experiences in the UK and Sweden

The on-going Syrian war has led to an unprecedented increase in families seeking refuge in Western Europe. Once given permission to stay, families encounter different settlement and ‘integration’ processes as they re- establish family life in changed geographical and cultural contexts. Other research has documented aspects of refugee ‘integration’, but this has focused on individual refugees or on mothers who are often regarded as primary actors in family lives. In contrast, this study will focus on Syrian refugee fathers and their families ‘integration’ through the men’s accounts of doing fathering and maintaining family life through early transition experiences.

The project will compare experiences in the UK and Sweden in order to examine how different country policies and integration processes are experienced. The findings from this comparative qualitative study will provide a missing perspective in relation to family migration and inform integration policies and support activities, uniquely from the perspective of fathers.