Young women refugees call for compassion and connection to drive positive social change

    NEW YORK, NY, March 14, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In the face of increasing rejection, isolation and stigmatization of refugees a groundbreaking new report calls for compassion to stem the epidemic of persecution and intolerance. Based on more than seven years of qualitative and ethnographic research with young women refugees displaced by conflict and gender-based violence, the research calls for a more compassionate approach saying that compassion and connection are integral to the mental health of refugees and their wellbeing.

The report is an evaluation of data generated through compassion-based participatory multi-component interventions with young women refugees. Co-founder and Executive Director of Footage Foundation, Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton, who authored the report, says: "Our research among young women on the frontline of displacement shows that they experience little compassion. And yet compassion, along with connection, is integral to the mental health of refugees, and fundamental for sustainable and positive social change."

The report Compassionate Interventions & Forcibly Displaced Young Women will be released at 11am (ET) on Thursday, 16th March, 2023 at virtual event at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) – NGO CSW Forum.

To register for the event please click on the above link or, you can sign up to join here via Zoom.

To register an interest in receiving a copy of the report, which focuses on compassion in relation to connection among refugee women and is the first in a series titled: Explorations of Compassion: The Lived Experiences of Young Women Refugees and their Communities, please email: research-series[at]footageproject.org with your contact details.

About Footage Foundation: Footage is a U.S. based feminist organization raising voices to elevate lives through creative research, wellbeing interventions, and advocacy—all advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Footage has received nine Public Diplomacy awards from the U.S. Department of State to design and implement programs focusing on women and violence primarily in the Post-Soviet region. A nonprofit organization founded by PhD colleagues at Cambridge University, Footage uses narrative and expressive approaches empowering young women around the world to connect as agents of social change. Our programs provide connection — a community for young women on the frontlines of gender inequality where their ideas matter and their voices count. We have a particular focus on forced displacement and gender-based violence. We believe compassion and connection are as important to sustainable development as food and water.

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