The Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) strategy is a longstanding commitment on the part of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensuring that people are at the centre of its mandate. The AGD strategy promotes gender equality and human rights, particularly women’s and children’s rights, and the protection of all refugees, regardless of their ethnic, social or religious background.
Due to the COVID-19 measures in place, the most recent edition of the regular Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) Participatory Assessment methodology had to be adapted to meet social distancing requirements. As a result, it included an online needs assessment, followed by telephone interviews and (online) focus groups with asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless people who did not participate in the online survey.
The survey's main focus was the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of refugees in Bulgaria. Several topics were of interest: access to information, barriers to access to services, and further support needed.
In total, 149 persons of concern participated in the AGD: 112 of them in the online survey, and 37 in telephone interviews and focus groups. These people included 61 women, 86 men, 7 children, 110 adults, and 11 persons above 55. Of the respondents, 54 are from Syria, 37 from Afghanistan, 14 from Iraq, 14 stateless, 11 from Iran, 6 from Yemen, and individual cases from Somalia, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Nigeria. 81 of the respondents are asylum-seekers, 28 are refugees, and 31 are humanitarian status holders living mostly in Sofia and Harmanli, Plovdiv, and Nova Zagora.
Although 52 of the respondents say they have not experienced any barriers in accessing services, the same topics with slight changes have been identified as areas where refugees have encountered obstacles, namely in access to employment (37), financial assistance (30), and education and schooling (19). Refugees express a need for support with access to family benefits, access to bank accounts and financial services, more Bulgarian language classes, and cultural orientation classes.
According to the survey's findings, almost 50% of respondents say their work was negatively affected by the pandemic. As a consequence, 67 of the respondents cannot meet their basic needs. NGOs remain the primary source of support for refugees at external addresses.
Online education is not the best form of education for refugees due to the language barrier, lack of additional education support, technical issues (lack of devices and Internet), and parents' mental state.
More than half (60) of the respondents reported that the pandemic did not negatively affect their well-being, and 27 reported having experienced psycho-social issues, issues related to freedom of movement, and family unity (13). Small numbers reported having experienced emotional abuse, neglect, and physical violence.
Details
- Authors
- UNHCR Bulgaria
- Geographic area
- Bulgaria
- Contributor type
- International organisation
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