Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Fall 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Honors Interdisclipinary
Advisor(s)
Bradley R. Newcomer
Kimiko Tanaka
Timothy Howley
Abstract
There are currently 22.5 million refugees worldwide who have been displaced from their home countries due to war, conflict, or persecution. Of this total, only 1% are recommended for resettlement each year. In recent years, many of these resettled refugees have come from Iraq, fleeing conflict stemming from the Iraq war and ISIS. Upon resettlement, refugees face significant acculturation difficulties that can negatively affect mental health. Additionally, experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can also negatively affect physical and mental health. I researched how the refugee migration experience and domestic violence and abuse affect mental health as well as what unique barriers refugees face when accessing mental health and DVA resources. Finally, I discuss suggestions for improving resettled refugees’ access to mental health and domestic violence and abuse resources, and discuss my experience implementing these suggestions with resettled Iraqi refugees in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area.
Recommended Citation
Holland, Kaitlin Michelle, "Navigating culture: An exploration of domestic violence and abuse resource provision to the Harrisonburg Iraqi Refugee Community" (2017). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 511.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/511
