Syrian Refugee Women, Girls, and People with Disabilities in Turkey

Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, almost half of whom are women and girls.

This rapid review looks at available evidence on how Syrian refugee women, girls, and people with disabilities have been affected by the response to the refugee crisis by a variety of actors, including the host government, international actors, and host communities. Refugees in Turkey face a number of challenges, with female refugees and refugees with disabilities facing additional gender and disability specific barriers. Poverty is a major issue for refugees, with nearly 67% living below the poverty line.

While initially there were a number of research reports focusing specifically on the experiences of female refugees in Turkey (e.g. AFAD, 2014; MAZLUMDER, 2014, CTDC, 2015; Anderson, 2013), recently less research has focused specifically on them, although a recent needs assessment by UNWOMEN is forthcoming. Much of the available literature is grey literature from organisations working in Turkey, as well as a small number of journal articles. Very little evidence is available on the experiences of Syrian refugees with disabilities, which remains a large gap in the evidence. Much of the general literature on the response to the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey is both gender and especially disability blind, although the need to meet their needs is increasingly recognised by those responding to the crisis.