Picturing the ambiguity of refugees hosting: A photovoice exploration of Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences with their Canadian hosts in the Greater Toronto Area

Project Title

_{Picturing the ambiguity of refugees hosting: A photovoice exploration of Ukranian refugee women's experiences with their Canadian hosts in the Greater Toronto Area}

Researchers

_{Principle Investigator: Dr. Areej Al-Hamad} 

_{Co-Investigators: Dr. Yasin M. Yasin, Dr. Kateryna Metersky, Dr. Sepali Guruge} 

Funder

_{Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant}

Research Question

_{The study aims to explore the following questions:}

_{1) How do Ukranian women conceptualize their experiences with their Canadian hosts in the GTA?}

_{2) How do Ukrainian refugee women in the GTA perceive the opportunities and challenges living with Canadian hosts, and their suggestions to enhance the hosting model for better settlement and integration outcomes?} 

Methodology

_{The study uses the photovoice method to explore Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences with Canadian hosts in the GTA. Photovoice is a community-based participatory action research approach rooted in the principles of critical consciousness theory and feminist theory (Freire, 2020; Wang & Hannes, 2020).} 

Background

^{As family hosting will likely remain an important residency option, it is vital to understand the experiences of refugees with their hosts in order to increase the viability and success of this option. Understanding Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences of hosting in the GTA can clarify how these experiences relate to broader social, cultural, and political structures of inequity and oppression. The timing of this study is extremely important in order to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities of this model at a time that recent media reports indicate that the number of Canadian families willing to host Ukrainian refugees has slowed and that unaffordable housing and stiff competition in rental markets across the country are driving the latest arrivals into shelters (Condon, 2023; Hassan, 2022; Weichel, 2022). This study is urgently needed in the context of the ongoing waves of Ukrainian refugees entering Canada, and the high level of engagement in refugee hosting and sponsorship by private citizens in hosting countries including Canada (Antezza et al., 2022; Condon, 2023; Hassan, 2022; Weichel, 2022). We are not aware of any research examining Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences with Canadian hosts in the GTA.}

Findings

_{Key themes that have emerged from preliminary findings are related to: 1) Host-guest dynamics in shared spaces; 2) Adaptation through coexistence; and 3) Refining the path of refugee hosting}

Keywords

_{Homestay hosting, Ukrainian refugee women, Canadian hosts, Photovoice.}

References

_{Antezza, A., Frank, A., Frank, P., Franz, L., Kharitonov, I., Kumar, B., Rebinskaya, E., & Trebesch, C. (2022). The Ukraine Support Tracker: Which Countries Help Ukraine and How? (No. 2218). Kiel Working Paper.  (external link, opens in new window)} 

_{Condon, O. (2023, January 11). 'Beyond capacity': Housing Ukrainian evacuees in Calgary a daily struggle for support organizations. Calgary Herald.  (external link, opens in new window)} 

_{Freire, P. (2020). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In J. Beck, C. Jenks, N. Keddie, & M. F. D. Young (Eds.), Toward a Sociology of Education (pp. 374-386). Routledge.  (external link, opens in new window)} 

_{Hassan, S. (2022, November 10). Ukrainian newcomers face challenges as some landlords demand months of advance rent. CTV News.  (external link, opens in new window)} 

_{Wang, Q., & Hannes, K. (2020). Toward a more comprehensive type of analysis in photovoice research: The development and illustration of supportive question matrices for research teams. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920914712.  (external link, opens in new window)} 

_{Weichel, A. (2022, August 30). Ukrainian family wishes they were warned about B.C.'s pricey rental market. CTV News.  (external link, opens in new window)}