Social Work ‘With Refugees’ as a Site of Gendered Everyday Bordering

Abstract

Recently, gendered images of people categorized as ‘refugees’ became ubiquitous in German media and also awakened many researchers’ interest. However, less attention has been paid to how gendered images of refugees are put into practice in daily life – also with regards to Social Work, notwithstanding its growing societal importance. Since 2015, many social organizations have become involved in the administration, accommodation and counselling of refugees. Often constituting their first point of contact with the German welfare system, they are both a target and an instrument for the implementation of (gendered) integration policies. As observed during ethnographic fieldwork (2020–2022), perceptions of gendered agency become increasingly important as markers of difference here. Against this background, I argue that Social Work with people categorized as ‘refugees’ can be considered an important site of gendered forms of ‘everyday bordering’. To support this argument, I present special programmes ‘for refugee women*’ as well as funding procedures as two examples of where ideas of gender (relations) and agency become intertwined in bordering processes.