Revisiting the “Imperative of Categories”: Women at Risk in Resettlement Practice

This research examines how the Women at Risk (WaR) category functions in refugee resettlement, drawing on Norway's resettlement program as a case study.

Key findings:

• The WaR category was introduced in 1988 to address male-dominated resettlement outcomes, yet its application often remains restrictively narrow

• Despite UNHCR's evolved guidance (2023) that no longer requires absence of male protection, many states still interpret WaR as limited to single women or female heads of household

• In Norwegian practice, women with partners—even survivors of sexual violence and forced marriage—are routinely excluded from the WaR category

• Securitization of resettlement has created a culture of suspicion, with extensive verification of women's civil status often taking precedence over understanding their protection needs

• Information asymmetries about selection criteria may incentivize women to misrepresent their family situations, with long-term consequences for family reunification and permanent residence

• Gender-based protection needs are frequently erased in bureaucratic processes, even when specialized categories exist to highlight them