Assoc. Prof. Paulina Polko (Akademia WSB – WSB University, Poland) visited Roskilde University in Denmark to implement COST Action COREnet funded Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) on religion, gender and immigrants’ security.
This STSM entitled “Religion and gender as factors determining immigrants’ personal security in Denmark” aimed to recognize how insecurity shapes the life of immigrants in Denmark and how it is associated with their gender and religion. During the visit, Assoc. Prof. Polko did three types of activity: 1. Critical literature review based on library resources provided by Roskilde University on the factors
determining migrants’ personal security in the context of religion and gender; 2. Consultations with researchers from Roskilde University from the Department of Social Sciences and Business on factors determining immigrants’ personal security; 3. Interviews with NGO representatives working with migrants in Denmark and initiators of various initiatives referring to inclusion, freedom of movement, and humanitarian aid (Refugees Welcome, Fakti and Kringlebakken).
Paulina also gave a lecture with a discussion on the migration-security nexus for the Critical Migration Research Group affiliated with Roskilde University (Department of Social Sciences and Business), which is run by Prof. Eric Komlavi Hahonou. In particular, the meeting was focused on how religion (and – in the broader sense: cultural identity) shapes both – the personal perception of security of immigrants and the approach of the receiving society, based on cases of Denmark and how the gender of immigrants affects their safety.
All the activities resulted in an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the personal security of immigrants and their gender and religion. Insecurity was a keyword in every report, paper, or interview conducted during the STSM. Case studies of different groups of migrants, such as those with permanent or temporary stay status, asylum seekers, or migrants waiting for deportation, showed that there are differences in the level of personal security in the case of men and women as well as in the case of Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants. One of the most important conclusions was the permanency of the insecurity in migrants’ biographies, with an even decrease in the level of insecurity in the destination country.
A Short-Term Scientific Mission, funded by the COST Action COREnet, consists of a visit to a host organization located in a different country to the country of affiliation of a Researcher in order to carry out specific work as part of a research project. In addition to research purposes, Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are aimed to support researchers’ individual mobility, to strengthen existing networks and to foster collaboration between individuals. The purpose of a STSM is thus to gain new partnerships, to learn new techniques and to gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methods not available in their own institutions/organizations.