Editing Refugee (section)

==Issues==

===Protracted displacement===
Displacement is a long lasting reality for most refugees. Two-thirds of all refugees around the world have been displaced for over three years, which is known as being in 'protracted displacement'. 50% of refugees—around 10 million people—have been displaced for over ten years.

Protracted displacement can lead to detrimental effects on [[refugee employment]] and [[refugee workforce integration]], exacerbating the effect of the [[canvas ceiling]].<ref name="Lee" /> Protracted displacement leads to skills to atrophy, leading qualifications and experiences to be outdated and incompatible to the changing working environments of receiving countries by the time refugees resettle.

The [[Overseas Development Institute]] has found that aid programmes need to move from short-term models of assistance (such as food or cash handouts) to more sustainable long-term programmes that help refugees become more self-reliant. This can involve tackling difficult legal and economic environments, by improving social services, job opportunities and laws.<ref>Crawford N. et al. (2015) [http://www.odi.org/publications/9906-refugee-idp-displacement-livelihoods-humanitarian-development Protracted displacement: uncertain paths to self-reliance in exile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725111108/https://www.odi.org/publications/9906-refugee-idp-displacement-livelihoods-humanitarian-development |date=25 July 2019 }} Overseas Development Institute</ref>

===Medical problems===
{{Main|Refugee health}}
[[File:Refugee children from Syria at a clinic in Ramtha, northern Jordan (9613477263).jpg|thumb|Refugee children from [[Syria]] at a clinic in [[Ar Ramtha|Ramtha]], [[Jordan]], August 2013]]

Refugees typically report poorer levels of health, compared to other immigrants and the non-immigrant population.<ref name="Gluntella">{{cite journal |author= Giuntella, O. |author2=Kone, Z.L. |author3=Ruiz, I. |author4=C. Vargas-Silva |year=2018 |title=Reason for immigration and immigrants' health | journal = Public Health | volume=158 | pages=102–109 |url= https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:240c3767-c57c-4ed5-b127-aa05ad03ccbf|doi=10.1016/j.puhe.2018.01.037 |pmid=29576228 }}</ref>

====PTSD====
Apart from physical wounds or starvation, a large percentage of refugees develop symptoms of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), and show post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Lembcke H, Buchmuller T, Leyendecker B |title=Refugee mother-child dyads' hair cortisol, post-traumatic stress, and affectionate parenting |journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology |date=2020 |volume=111 |at=104470 |doi=10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104470|pmid=31610408 |s2cid=203656224 }}</ref> or [[Clinical depression|depression]].<ref name="Baggio">{{cite journal |vauthors=Baggio S, Gonçalves L, Heeren A, Heller P, Gétaz L, Graf M, Rossegger A, Endrass J, Wolff H |title=The Mental Health Burden of Immigration Detention: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |journal=Kriminologie |year=2020 |pages=219–233 |volume=2 |issue=2 |doi=10.18716/ojs/krimoj/2020.2.7 |url=https://www.kriminologie.de/index.php/krimoj/article/view/58/58}}</ref> These long-term mental problems can severely impede the functionality of the person in everyday situations; it makes matters even worse for displaced persons who are confronted with a new environment and challenging situations.<ref name="Baggio"/> They are also at high risk for [[suicide]].{{sfn|Holloway|2002}}

Among other symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder involves [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]], over-alertness, sleeplessness, motor difficulties, failing [[short term memory]], [[amnesia]], nightmares and sleep-paralysis. Flashbacks are characteristic to the disorder: the patient experiences the [[traumatic event (psychological)|traumatic event]], or pieces of it, again and again. Depression is also characteristic for PTSD-patients and may also occur without accompanying PTSD.

PTSD was diagnosed in 34.1% of [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] children, most of whom were refugees, [[male]]s, and working. The participants were 1,000 children aged 12 to 16 years from governmental, private, and United Nations Relief Work Agency [[UNRWA]] schools in East Jerusalem and various governorates in the West Bank.{{sfn|Khamis|2005|pp=81–95}}

Another study showed that 28.3% of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian]] refugee women had symptoms of PTSD three or four years after their arrival in Sweden. These women also had significantly higher [[risk]]s of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress than Swedish-born women. For depression the odds ratio was 9.50 among Bosnian women.{{sfn|Sundquist|Johansson|DeMarinis|Johansson|2005|pp=158–64}}

A study by the Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the [[Boston University]] School of Medicine demonstrated that twenty percent of Sudanese refugee minors living in the United States had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. They were also more likely to have worse scores on all the Child Health Questionnaire subscales.{{sfn|Geltman|Grant-Knight|Mehta|Lloyd-Travaglini|2005|pp=585–91}}

In a study for the United Kingdom, refugees were found to be 4 percentage points more likely to report a mental health problem compared to the non-immigrant population. This contrasts with the results for other immigrant groups, which were less likely to report a mental health problem compared to the non-immigrant population.<ref name="Gluntella" />

Many more studies illustrate the problem. One [[meta-study]] was conducted by the psychiatry department of [[Oxford University]] at Warneford Hospital in the United Kingdom. Twenty [[Statistical survey|surveys]] were analyzed, providing results for 6,743 adult refugees from seven countries. In the larger studies, 9% were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and 5% with major depression, with evidence of much psychiatric co-morbidity. Five surveys of 260 refugee children from three countries yielded a [[prevalence]] of 11% for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to this study, refugees resettled in Western countries could be about ten times more likely to have PTSD than age-matched general populations in those countries. Worldwide, tens of thousands of refugees and former refugees resettled in Western countries probably have post-traumatic stress disorder.{{sfn|Fazel|Wheeler|Danesh|2005|pp=1309–14}}

===Malaria===
Refugees are often more susceptible to illness for several reasons, including a lack of immunity to local strains of [[malaria]] and other diseases. Displacement of a people can create favorable conditions for disease transmission. Refugee camps are typically heavily populated with poor sanitary conditions. The removal of vegetation for space, building materials or firewood also deprives mosquitoes of their natural habitats, leading them to more closely interact with humans.{{sfn|Kazmi|Pandit|2001|pp=1043–1055}} In the 1970s, Afghanese refugees that were relocated to Pakistan were going from a country with an effective malaria control strategy, to a country with a less effective system.

The refugee camps were built near rivers or irrigation sites had higher malaria prevalence than refugee camps built on dry lands.{{sfn|Rowland|Rab|Freeman|Durrani|2002|pp=2061–2072}}
The location of the camps lent themselves to better breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and thus a higher likelihood of malaria transmission. Children aged 1–15 were the most susceptible to malaria infection, which is a significant cause of mortality in children younger than 5.{{sfn|Karim|Hussain|Malik|Lee|2016|pp=1–12}} Malaria was the cause of 16% of the deaths in refugee children younger than 5 years of age.{{sfn|Mertans|Hall|2000|pp=103–9}} Malaria is one of the most commonly reported causes of death in refugees and displaced persons. Since 2014, reports of malaria cases in Germany had doubled compared to previous years, with the majority of cases found in refugees from Eritrea.{{sfn|Roggelin|Tappe|Noack|Addo|2016|p=325}}

The World Health Organization recommends that all people in areas that are endemic for malaria use long-lasting insecticide nets.{{sfn|Fact sheet Malaria}} A cohort study found that within refugee camps in Pakistan, insecticide treated bed nets were very useful in reducing malaria cases. A single treatment of the nets with the insecticide [[permethrin]] remained protective throughout the 6 month transmission season.{{sfn|Kolaczinski|2004|pp=15}}

===Access to healthcare services===
Access to services depends on many factors, including whether a refugee has received official status, is situated within a refugee camp, or is in the process of third country resettlement. The UNHCR recommends integrating access to primary care and emergency health services with the host country in as equitable a manner as possible.<ref name="UNHCR 2011">{{cite web|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)|year=2011|title=Ensuring Access to Health Care: Operational Guidance on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas|url=http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/protection/health/4e26c9c69/ensuring-access-health-care-operational-guidance-refugee-protection-solutions.html?query=health%20care|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref> Prioritized services include areas of maternal and child health, immunizations, tuberculosis screening and treatment, and [[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS|HIV/AIDS-related services]].<ref name="UNHCR 2011"/> Despite inclusive stated policies for refugee access to health care on the international levels, potential barriers to that access include language, cultural preferences, high financial costs, administrative hurdles, and physical distance.<ref name="UNHCR 2011"/> Specific barriers and policies related to health service access also emerge based on the host country context.  For example, [[primaquine]], an often recommended malaria treatment is not currently licensed for use in Germany and must be ordered from outside the country.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Roggelin, L |author2=Tappe, D |author3=Noack, B |author4=Addo, M |author5=Tannich, E |author6=Rothe, C |year=2016 |title=Sharp increase of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria seen in migrants from Eritrea in Hamburg, Germany |journal=Malaria Journal|volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=325|doi=10.1186/s12936-016-1366-7|pmid=27316351 |pmc=4912711 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In Canada, barriers to healthcare access include the lack of adequately trained physicians, complex medical conditions of some refugees and the bureaucracy of medical coverage.<ref name="McMurray">{{ cite journal |author1=McMurray, J |author2=Breward, K |author3=Breward, M |author4=Alder, R |author5=Arya, N |year=2014 |title=Integrated Primary Care Improves Access to Healthcare for Newly Arrived Refugees in Canada |journal=[[Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health]] |volume=16|issue=4 |pages=576–585 |doi=10.1007/s10903-013-9954-x|pmid=24293090 |s2cid=5638148 }}</ref> There are also individual barriers to access such as language and transportation barriers, institutional barriers such as bureaucratic burdens and lack of entitlement knowledge, and systems level barriers such as conflicting policies, racism and physician workforce shortage.<ref name="McMurray"/>

In the US, all officially designated [[Iraqi refugees]] had health insurance coverage compared to a little more than half of non-Iraqi immigrants in a Dearborn, Michigan, study.<ref name="Elsouhag">{{ cite journal|author1=Elsouhag, D |author2=Arnetz, B |author3=Jamil, H |author4=Lumley, MA |author5=Broadbridge, CL |author6=Arnetz, J |year=2015 |title=Factors Associated with Healthcare Utilization Among Arab Immigrants and Iraqi Refugees |journal=[[Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health]] |volume=17|issue=5 |pages= 1305–1312|doi=10.1007/s10903-014-0119-3|pmc=4405449 |pmid=25331684}}</ref> However, greater barriers existed around transportation, language and successful stress coping mechanisms for refugees versus other immigrants,<ref name="Elsouhag"/> in addition, refugees noted greater medical conditions.<ref name="Elsouhag"/> The study also found that refugees had higher healthcare utilization rate (92.1%) as compared to the US overall population (84.8%) and immigrants (58.6%) in the study population.<ref name="Elsouhag"/>

Within Australia, officially designated refugees who qualify for temporary protection and offshore humanitarian refugees are eligible for health assessments, interventions and access to health insurance schemes and trauma-related counseling services.<ref name="Skull">{{ cite journal|author1=Murray, SB |author2=Skull, SA |year=2005|title=Hurdles to health:Immigrant and refugee healthcare in Australia |journal= Australian Health Review |volume=29|issue=1|pages=25–29|doi=10.1071/ah050025|pmid=15683352 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Despite being eligible to access services, barriers include economic constraints around perceived and actual costs carried by refugees.<ref name="Gany">{{ cite journal|author1=Gany, F |author2=De Bocanegra, H |year=1996|title=Overcoming barriers to improving the health of immigrant women |journal=J Am Med Womens Assoc |volume=51|issue=4|pages=155–60 |pmid=8840732}}</ref> In addition, refugees must cope with a healthcare workforce unaware of the unique health needs of refugee populations.<ref name="Skull"/><ref name="Gany"/> Perceived legal barriers such as fear that disclosing medical conditions prohibiting reunification of family members and current policies which reduce assistance programs may also limit access to health care services.<ref name="Skull"/>

Providing access to healthcare for refugees through integration into the current health systems of host countries may also be difficult when operating in a resource limited setting. In this context, barriers to healthcare access may include political aversion in the host country and already strained capacity of the existing health system.<ref name="Tuepker">{{cite journal|author1=Tuepker, A |author2=Chi, CH|year=2009 |title=Evaluating integrated healthcare for refugees and hosts in an African context|journal=Health Economics, Policy and Law|volume=4 |issue=2|pages=159–178|doi=10.1017/s1744133109004824|pmid=19187568 |s2cid=5595013}}</ref> Political aversion to refugee access into the existing health system may stem from the wider issue of refugee resettlement.<ref name="Tuepker"/><ref>{{ cite journal|author1=Lawrie, N |author2=van Damme, W |year=2003|title=The importance of refugee-host relations: Guinea 1990–2003 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(03)14124-4|pmid=12938671|journal=The Lancet|volume=362|issue=9383|page=575 |s2cid=45829685}}</ref> One approach to limiting such barriers is to move from a parallel administrative system in which UNHCR refugees may receive better healthcare than host nationals but is unsustainable financially and politically to that of an integrated care where refugee and host nationals receive equal and more improved care all around.<ref name="Tuepker"/> In the 1980s, Pakistan attempted to address [[Soviet–Afghan War|Afghan refugee]] healthcare access through the creation of Basic Health Units inside the camps.{{sfn|Kazmi|Pandit|2001|pp=1043–1055}} Funding cuts closed many of these programs, forcing refugees to seek healthcare from the local government.{{sfn|Kazmi|Pandit|2001|pp=1043–1055}} In response to a protracted refugee situation in the West Nile district, Ugandan officials with UNHCR created an integrative healthcare model for the mostly [[Refugees of Sudan|Sudanese refugee]] population and Ugandan citizens. Local nationals now access health care in facilities initially created for refugees.<ref name="Tuepker"/><ref>{{ cite journal|author1=Rowley, EA |author2=Burnham, GM |author3=Drabe, RM |year=2006 |title=Evaluating integrated healthcare for refugees and hosts in an African context|journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |volume=19 |issue=2|pages=158–186|doi=10.1093/jrs/fej019}}</ref>

One potential argument for limiting refugee access to healthcare is associated with costs with states desire to decrease health expenditure burdens. However, Germany found that restricting refugee access led to an increase actual expenditures relative to refugees which had full access to healthcare services.<ref name="Bozorgmehr">{{cite journal|author1=Bozorgmehr, K |author2=Razum, O |year=2015 |title=Effect of restricting access to health care on health expenditures among asylum-seekers and refugees: a quasi-experimental study in Germany, 1994–2013.|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=7 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0131483 |pmid=26201017 |pmc=4511805 |page=e0131483|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1031483B |doi-access=free }}</ref> The legal restrictions on access to health care and the administrative barriers in Germany have been criticized since the 1990s for leading to delayed care, for increasing direct costs and administrative costs of health care, and for shifting the responsibility for care from the less expensive primary care sector to costly treatments for acute conditions in the secondary and tertiary sector.<ref name="Bozorgmehr"/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Pross, C|year=1998 |title=Third Class Medicine: Health Care for Refugees in Germany. |journal=Health and Human Rights |volume=3 |issue=2|pages=40–53|doi=10.2307/4065298 |jstor=4065298 |pmid=10343292 }}</ref>

===Exploitation===
{{See also|Human trafficking}}
Refugee populations consist of people who are terrified and are away from familiar surroundings. There can be instances of exploitation at the hands of enforcement officials, citizens of the host country, and even United Nations peacekeepers. Instances of human rights violations, child labor, mental and physical trauma/torture, violence-related trauma, and [[Sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response|sexual exploitation]], especially of children, have been documented. In many refugee camps in three war-torn West African countries, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, young girls were found to be exchanging sex for money, a handful of fruit, or even a bar of soap. Most of these girls were between 13 and 18 years of age. In most cases, if the girls had been forced to stay, they would have been forced into marriage. They became pregnant around the age of 15 on average. This happened as recently as in 2001. Parents tended to turn a blind eye because sexual exploitation had become a "mechanism of survival" in these camps.{{sfn|Aggrawal|2005|pp=514–525}}

Large groups of displaced persons could be abused as [[refugees as weapons|"weapons"]] to threaten political enemies or neighbouring countries. It is for this reason amongst others that the United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goal 10]] aims to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible mobility of people through planned and well-managed migration policies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 10 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127140337/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Concerns about human trafficking and sexual violence have been realized during the [[2022–present Ukrainian refugee crisis]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Trafficking and sexual exploitation of Ukrainian refugees on the rise |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/trafficking-and-sexual-exploitation-of-ukrainian-refugees-on-the-rise/ |work=Euractiv |date=30 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ukrainian refugees increasingly targeted for sexual exploitation, research finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/26/ukrainian-refugees-increasingly-targeted-for-sexual-exploitation-research-finds |work=The Guardian |date=26 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=War in Ukraine causes spike in refugees being recruited for prostitution |url=https://cne.news/article/2857-war-in-ukraine-causes-spike-in-refugees-being-recruited-for-prostitution |work=CNE News |date=4 April 2023}}</ref> European Commissioner for Home Affairs [[Ylva Johansson]] said: "We have some indications on online services that the demand for Ukrainian women for sexual purposes has gone up."<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel investigating suspected trafficking of 17-year-old Ukrainian refugee |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-investigating-suspected-trafficking-of-17-year-old-ukrainian-refugee/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=24 March 2022}}</ref> According to ''USA Today'', "there has been a skyrocketing increase in all forms of illegal trafficking of women and girls in the region – and also boys – including forced sex and labor, [[prostitution]], [[pornography]] and other forms of sexual exploitation... In recent weeks, online searches for Ukrainian women and keywords like escorts, porn or sex have shot up dramatically in European countries, according to the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE)."<ref>{{cite news |title=Putin's war in Ukraine is driving a hidden horror: Sex trafficking of women and children |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/20/putins-ukraine-war-sex-trafficking/9733542002/ |work=[[USA Today]] |date=20 May 2022}}</ref>

===Crime===
Little empirical evidence supports concerns that refugees commit crimes at higher rates than natives, and some evidence suggests they may commit crime at lower rates than natives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 =Masterson |first1 =Daniel |last2 =Yasenov |first2 =Vasil |date =August 2021 |title =Does Halting Refugee Resettlement Reduce Crime? Evidence from the US Refugee Ban |journal =American Political Science Review |language =en |volume =115 |issue =3 |pages =1066–1073 |doi =10.1017/S0003055421000150 |s2cid =233649843 |issn =0003-0554|doi-access =free }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title =Refugee Waves and Crime: Evidence from EU Countries |date =2019 |url =https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/does-immigration-increase-crime/refugee-waves-and-crime-evidence-from-eu-countries/2273436F5966C0CC4B9789286E3CDD6D |work =Does Immigration Increase Crime?: Migration Policy and the Creation of the Criminal Immigrant |pages =129–155 |editor-last =Owens |editor-first =Emily G. |place =Cambridge |publisher =Cambridge University Press |doi =10.1017/9781108626286.006 |isbn =978-1-108-49455-7 |s2cid =216605573 |access-date =2022-04-21 |editor2-last =Fasani |editor2-first =Francesco |editor3-last =Mastrobuoni |editor3-first =Giovanni |editor4-last =Pinotti |editor4-first =Paolo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1 =Amuedo-Dorantes |first1 =Catalina |last2 =Bansak |first2 =Cynthia |last3 =Pozo |first3 =Susan |date =March 2021 |title =Refugee Admissions and Public Safety: Are Refugee Settlement Areas More Prone to Crime? |url =http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0197918320920192 |journal =International Migration Review |language =en |volume =55 |issue =1 |pages =135–165 |doi =10.1177/0197918320920192 |s2cid =169331047 |issn =0197-9183|hdl =10419/185072 |hdl-access =free }}</ref> Very rarely, refugees have been used and recruited as refugee [[militant]]s or [[terrorist]]s,{{sfn|United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)|1999}} and the humanitarian aid directed at refugee relief has very rarely been utilized to fund the acquisition of arms.{{sfn|Crisp|1999}} Although conclusions from case-studies of refugee-mobilizations raised concerns that humanitarian aid may support rebel groups,<ref>{{Cite journal |last =Adelman |first =Howard |date =1998-07-01 |title =Why Refugee Warriors are Threats |url =https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCS/article/view/11672 |journal =Journal of Conflict Studies |language =en |issn =1715-5673}}</ref> more recent empirical evidence does not support the generalizability of these concerns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 =Masterson |first1 =Daniel |last2 =Lehmann |first2 =M. Christian |date =May 2020 |title =Refugees, Mobilization, and Humanitarian Aid: Evidence from the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon |url =http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022002719885176 |journal =Journal of Conflict Resolution |language =en |volume= 64 |issue =5 |pages =817–843 |doi =10.1177/0022002719885176 |s2cid =211355603 |issn =0022-0027}}</ref> Support from a refugee-receiving state has rarely been used to enable refugees to mobilize militarily, enabling conflict to spread across borders.{{sfn|Weiss|1999|pp=1–22}}

Historically, refugee populations have often been portrayed{{cn|date=October 2024}} as a security threat. In the U.S and Europe, there has been much focus on a narrative whereby terrorists maintain networks amongst transnational, refugee, and migrant populations. This fear has been exaggerated into a modern-day Islamist terrorism Trojan Horse in which terrorists allegedly hide among refugees and penetrate host countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schmid |first=Alex |year=2016 |title=Links Between Terrorism and Migration: An Exploration |url=https://www.icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Alex-P.-Schmid-Links-between-Terrorism-and-Migration-1.pdf|journal=Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Studies |doi=10.19165/2016.1.04 |access-date=29 March 2017 |archive-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723230300/https://www.icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Alex-P.-Schmid-Links-between-Terrorism-and-Migration-1.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> 'Muslim-refugee-as-an-enemy-within' rhetoric is relatively new, but the underlying [[scapegoating]] of out-groups for domestic societal problems, fears and [[ethno-nationalism | ethno-nationalist]] sentiment is not new.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Functions of Social Conflict |last=Coser |first=Lewis |publisher=The Free Press |year=1956}}</ref> In the 1890s, the influx of Eastern European Jewish refugees to London coupled with the rise of [[anarchism]] in the city led to a confluence of threat-perception and fear of the refugee out-group.<ref>{{Cite journal |author =Michael Collyer |date =2005-03-01|title =Secret agents: Anarchists, Islamists and responses to politically active refugees in London|journal =Ethnic and Racial Studies|volume =28|issue =2|pages =278–303 |doi =10.1080/01419870420000315852|s2cid =144981657|issn =0141-9870}}</ref> Populist rhetoric then too propelled debate over migration control and protecting [[national security]].

Cross-national empirical verification, or rejection, of populist suspicion and fear of refugees' threat to national security and terror-related activities is relatively scarce.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Milton |first1=Daniel |last2=Spencer |first2=Megan |last3=Findley |first3=Michael |date=2013-11-01 |title=Radicalism of the Hopeless: Refugee Flows and Transnational Terrorism |journal=International Interactions |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=621–645 |doi=10.1080/03050629.2013.834256 |s2cid=153556065 |issn=0305-0629}}</ref> Case-studies suggest that the threat of an Islamist refugee Trojan Horse is highly exaggerated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Messari |first1=N. |last2=van der Klaauw |first2=J. |date=2010-12-01 |title=Counter-Terrorism Measures and Refugee Protection in North Africa |journal=Refugee Survey Quarterly |language=en |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=83–103 |doi=10.1093/rsq/hdq034 |issn=1020-4067}}</ref>{{qn|date=October 2024}} Of the 800,000 refugees vetted through the resettlement program in the United States between 2001 and 2016, only five were subsequently arrested on terrorism charges; and 17 of the 600,000 Iraqis and Syrians who arrived in Germany in 2015 were investigated for terrorism.<ref name="UNHCR IDP" /> One study found that European [[jihadist]]s tend to be 'homegrown': over 90% were residents of a European country and 60% had European citizenship.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilner |first1=Alex S. |last2=Dubouloz |first2=Claire-Jehanne |date=2010-02-01 |title=Homegrown terrorism and transformative learning: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding radicalization |journal=Global Change, Peace & Security |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=33–51 |doi=10.1080/14781150903487956 |s2cid=55876637 |issn=1478-1158 |doi-access=free | quote = For the most part, homegrown terrorists have been citizens and residents born, raised, and educated within the countries they attack and groups have been self-generated and independently organized. A recent study of over 200 European jihadists, for instance, found that over 90% were residents of a European country and almost 60% retained European citizenship.}} - Citing Edwin Bakker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jp8QJwAACAAJ&dq=Edwin+Bakker,+%27%27Jihadi+Terrorists+in+Europe:+Their+Characteristics+and+the+Circumstances+in+which+they+Joined+the+Jihad%27%27&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF7JLVi6uJAxW3L1kFHeLSFjEQ6AF6BAgJEAE ''Jihadi Terrorists in Europe: Their Characteristics and the Circumstances in which they Joined the Jihad'']. Issue 2 of Clingendael security paper, Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations, 2006), 36–7. ISBN 9789050311137.
</ref>
While the statistics do not support the rhetoric, a PEW Research Center survey of ten European countries (Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece, UK, France, and Spain) released on 11 July 2016, finds that majorities (ranging from 52% to 76%) of respondents in eight countries (Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece, and UK) think refugees increase the likelihood of terrorism in their country.<ref name="Wike">Wike, Richard, Bruce Stokes, and Katie Simmons. "Europeans fear wave of refugees will mean more terrorism, fewer jobs."&nbsp;''Pew Research Center''&nbsp;11 (2016).</ref> Since 1975, in the U.S., the risk of dying in a terror attack by a refugee is 1 in 3.6 billion per year;<ref>{{Cite report |last=Nowrasteh |first=Alex |date=2016-09-13 |title=Terrorism and Immigration: A Risk Analysis |work=Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 798 |ssrn=2842277}}</ref> whereas the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are 1 in 113; by state sanctioned execution: 1 in 111,439; or by dog attack: 1 in 114,622.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.nsc.org/learn/safety-knowledge/Pages/injury-facts-chart.aspx |title=Injury Facts Chart |website=nsc.org |language=en |access-date=2017-03-29}}</ref>

In Europe, fear of immigration, [[Islamification]] and job and welfare-benefits competition has fueled an increase in violence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McGowan |first=Lee |date=2014-07-03 |title=Right-Wing Violence in Germany: Assessing the Objectives, Personalities and Terror Trail of the National Socialist Underground and the State's Response to It |journal=German Politics |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=196–212 |doi=10.1080/09644008.2014.967224 |s2cid=144993061 |issn=0964-4008}}</ref>{{qn|date=October 2024}} Immigrants are perceived as a threat to ethno-nationalist [[Identity (social science) | identity]] and increase concerns over criminality and insecurity.<ref name="Wiggen">{{Cite journal |last=Wiggen |first=Mette |date=2012-12-01 |title=Rethinking Anti-Immigration Rhetoric after the Oslo and Utøya Terror Attacks |journal=New Political Science |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=585–604 |doi=10.1080/07393148.2012.729744 |s2cid=143485932 |issn=0739-3148}}</ref>{{qn|date=October 2024}}

In the PEW survey previously referenced, 50% of respondents saw refugees as a burden due to job and social-benefit competition.<ref name="Wike" /> When Sweden received over 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, the influx was accompanied by 50 attacks against asylum-seekers, which was more than four times the number of attacks that occurred in the previous four years.<ref name="UNHCR IDP" /> At the incident level, the 2011 Utøya Norway terror attack by [[Anders Behring Breivik | Breivik]] demonstrates the impact of this threat perception on a country's risk from domestic terrorism, in particular ethno-nationalist extremism. Breivik portrayed himself as a protector of Norwegian ethnic identity and national security, fighting against (alleged) immigrant criminality, competition and welfare-abuse and an Islamic takeover.<ref name="Wiggen" />

Contrary to popular concerns that refugees commit crime, a more empirically grounded concern is that refugees are at high risk of being targets of anti-refugee violence.<ref>{{Cite book |last =Onoma |first =Ato Kwamena |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=iUyyAAAAQBAJ |title =Anti-Refugee Violence and African Politics |date =2013-10-07 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-03669-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lehmann |first1 =M. Christian |last2 =Masterson |first2 =Daniel T. R. |date =November 2020 |title =Does Aid Reduce Anti-refugee Violence? Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Lebanon |url =https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/does-aid-reduce-antirefugee-violence-evidence-from-syrian-refugees-in-lebanon/18C5224DD575F6E9E484CB5BC42CD49A |journal =American Political Science Review |language =en |volume =114 |issue =4 |pages =1335–1342 |doi =10.1017/S0003055420000349 |s2cid =225129140 |issn =0003-0554}}</ref> According to a 2018 study in the ''Journal of Peace Research'', states often resort to anti-refugee violence in response to terrorist attacks or to security crises. The study notes that there is evidence to suggest that "the repression of refugees is more consistent with a scapegoating mechanism than the actual ties and involvement of refugees in terrorism".<ref>{{Cite journal |title=From protection to persecution: Threat environment and refugee scapegoating |journal=Journal of Peace Research |volume=56 |pages=88–102 |language=en |doi=10.1177/0022343318811432 |year = 2019 |last1 = Savun |first1 = Burcu |last2=Gineste |first2=Christian |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2018, US president Donald Trump made some comments about refugees and immigrants in Sweden; he stated that the high numbers of crimes are because of refugees and immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-claims-he-was-right-about-crimes-caused-immigrants-sweden-n854296 |title=Trump claims vindication for baffling Sweden terror comments |website=[[NBC News]] |date=7 March 2018 }}</ref>

=== International relations ===
[[Alexander Betts (political scientist) | Alexander Betts]] highlights the phenomenon of refugees as "indicative of a breakdown of the [[nation-state]] system".<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Betts
 |first1               = Alexander
 |author-link1         = Alexander Betts (political scientist)
 |editor-last1         = Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
 |editor-first1        = Elena
 |editor-last2         = Loescher
 |editor-first2        = Gil
 |editor-link2         = Gil Loescher
 |editor-last3         = Long
 |editor-first3        = Katy
 |editor-last4         = Sigona
 |editor-first4        = Nando
 |date                 = 12 June 2014
 |chapter              = International Relations and Forced Migration
 |title                = The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=Lp_NAwAAQBAJ
 |series               = Oxford Handbooks
 |publication-place    = Oxford
 |publisher            = Oxford University Press
 |page                 = 60
 |isbn                 = 9780191645877
 |access-date          = 26 October 2024
 |quote                = Refugees [...] are an inherent part of international politics [...].  The refugee and the state system are two sides of the same coin, and the former cannot be understood without reference to the latter. The 'figure of the refugee' is an integral part of the international system, symbolizing the failure of the breakdown of the state-citizen-territory relationship assumed by the state system (Haddad 2008). [...] Forced migration is, by definition, indicative of a breakdown of the nation-state system. All forms of forced migration go to the core of questions of state sovereignty, and invite a host of other questions relating to security and the international political economy.
}} 
</ref>

===Representation===
The category of "refugee" tends to have a universalizing effect on those classified as such. It draws upon the common humanity of a mass of people in order to inspire public empathy, but doing so can have the unintended consequence of silencing refugee stories and erasing the political and historical factors that led to their present state.<ref name="Malkki 1996">{{cite journal |last1=Malkki |first1=Liisa H. |title=Speechless Emissaries: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and Dehistoricization |journal=Cultural Anthropology |date=1996 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=377–404|doi=10.1525/can.1996.11.3.02a00050 }}</ref> Humanitarian groups and media outlets often rely on images of refugees that evoke emotional responses and are said to speak for themselves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feldman |first1=Allen |title=On Cultural Anesthesia: From Desert Storm to Rodney King |journal=American Ethnologist |date=1994 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=408–18|doi=10.1525/ae.1994.21.2.02a00100 }}</ref> The refugees in these images, however, are not asked to elaborate on their experiences, and thus, their narratives are all but erased.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fiddian-Qasmiyeh |first1=Elena |display-authors=etal |title=The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> From the perspective of the international community, "refugee" is a performative status equated with injury, ill health, and poverty. When people no longer display these traits, they are no longer seen as ideal refugees, even if they still fit the legal definition. For this reason, there is a need to improve current humanitarian efforts by acknowledging the "narrative authority, historical agency, and political memory" of refugees alongside their shared humanity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Malkki |first1=Liisa H. |title=Speechless Emissaries: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and Dehistoricization |journal=Cultural Anthropology |date=1996 |volume=11 |issue=3 |page=398|doi=10.1525/can.1996.11.3.02a00050 }}</ref> Dehistorizing and depoliticizing refugees can have dire consequences. Rwandan refugees in Tanzanian camps, for example, were pressured to return to their home country before they believed it was truly safe to do so. Despite the fact that refugees, drawing on their political history and experiences, claimed that Tutsi forces still posed a threat to them in Rwanda, their narrative was overshadowed by the U.N. assurances of safety. When the refugees did return home, reports of reprisals against them, land seizures, disappearances, and incarceration abounded, as they had feared.<ref name="Malkki 1996"/>