Refugee women • 10.07.2024“Almost half of those seeking protection in Germany are female”

Dr. Elisabeth Kraus Source: © BiB

You have observed a trend towards an increase in the proportion of women seeking protection in Germany. Why is that?

Elisabeth Kraus: Yes, the proportion of women seeking protection in Germany has risen, especially in the last two years, and was around 45 per cent at the end of 2023. This trend can also be observed worldwide: More and more girls and women are having to leave their home countries due to war, conflict or persecution. In Germany, this increase in the proportion of women is mainly due to refugees from Ukraine. At the end of 2023, 61 per cent of people with Ukrainian citizenship in Germany were female. However, the proportion of women in other groups of origin is lower. For people from Syria or Eritrea, for example, the proportion is around 36 per cent. According to the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR), people from Ukraine were the most important group of people seeking protection at the end of last year, followed by Syria. Eritrea is the most important African country in this regard.

Two BiB surveys also provide data on women seeking protection from Ukraine, Syria and Eritrea. Who are these women and with whom did they arrive in Germany?

Elisabeth Kraus: As part of our TransFAR survey, we interviewed people from Eritrea and Syria living in Germany, half of whom were women and half men. Based on the data from this study, we found that women were less likely to arrive in Germany alone than men from the same countries of origin. Women from both countries often arrived in Germany with their children and/or their partner. However, Syrian women travelled to Germany relatively often with other family members, which was comparatively rare for Eritrean women. The duration of their flight also differs: while the average time between leaving Syria and arriving in Germany is just over a year for Syrian women, it is almost three years for Eritrean women. Eritrean women have therefore often lived in other countries before migrating to Germany.

Dr. Lenore Sauer Source: © BiB

And what about the Ukrainians?

Lenore Sauer: Only just under 20 per cent of Ukrainian women arrived alone. This is according to the BiB survey “Refugees from Ukraine”, for which people from Ukraine who have fled to Germany since March 2022 were interviewed. Those who did not migrate alone usually came to Germany with their children, who are often minors, and relatively often with their parents. However, comparatively few women arrived with their partners, substantially fewer than we observed among Eritrean and Syrian women. This is due to the fact that the majority of Ukrainian men of military age are involved in the defence of their country and therefore had to stay behind. The distance from Ukraine to Germany is also comparatively short and the journey is easier and safer for women with children than from other, more distant countries. This is also reflected in the relatively short flight time of just a few days from Ukraine to Germany.

What support measures are necessary to do justice to the different life situations of women and mothers seeking protection in Germany?

Lenore Sauer: It is clear that the support needs of people seeking protection must be individually adapted to their family situations. Refugee women and mothers in particular have different needs than male asylum seekers who have travelled alone. Mothers in particular who have come to Germany alone with their children need special assistance. This is primarily about daycare and school places so that children and young people can meet their peers and their mothers can attend integration courses and enter the labour market. In general, support measures should be as flexible and low-threshold as possible and adapted to different family situations and needs. In this way, specific needs and challenges can be taken into account.

In your survey “Forced Migration and Transnational Family Arrangements - Eritrean and Syrian Refugees in Germany (TransFAR)”, you focussed in particular on the family and relationship constellations of refugee women and men. Why did you do this?

Elisabeth Kraus: To date, there are only a few representative quantitative surveys across Europe that deal specifically with the families of refugees. TransFAR provides unique and detailed information on those seeking protection and their lives in Germany as well as on their immediate and extended family, for example on the whereabouts of various family members and the exchange relationships with them. Cross-border family configurations have important effects on an individual and societal level, because they may lead to migration processes of other people and are related to the integration and well-being of those seeking protection.

You are currently investigating how different family situations of refugees affect the development of personal social networks. What do you know about this so far?

Lenore Sauer: In our latest research, we are investigating the extent to which migrants from Eritrea and Syria make new contacts after arriving in Germany and what resources they receive through these contacts. This can be emotional or practical support or even leisure activities. We are particularly interested in the role of the family as well as migration-related characteristics, such as existing contacts to Germany before fleeing or the people with whom they arrived in Germany. In our analyses, in addition to examining the differences between people from both countries of origin, we also focus on differences between men and women.

Background to the BiB surveys

People seeking protection from Syria and Eritrea

The nationwide representative quantitative survey “Forced Migration and Transnational Family Arrangements – Eritrean and Syrian Refugees in Germany” (TransFAR) was conducted in 2020. It focuses on refugee women and men from Eritrea and Syria who arrived in Germany between 2013 and 2019. The data set will be made available to scientific research in the form of a scientific use file in the course of this year.

People seeking protection from Ukraine

The survey of Ukrainian citizens is a longitudinal survey launched by the BiB together with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in 2022 as a study with initially two survey waves. From the third wave onwards, the study will be known as the „BiB/FReDA survey: “Refugees from Ukraine”. The data set for the first and second waves was published in July 2024 and is available free of charge.