Discrimination, racism and prejudice

Description: The EU increasingly seeks to outsource or 'externalise' its international responsibility for the protection of refugees and other migrants to third countries, such as Morocco. This PhD research examines, from a multidisciplinary perspective, what legal and actual protection exists for forced migrants in Morocco. The research evaluates the extraterritorial responsibility of states under international refugee and human rights law (doctrinal law perspective), examines what migrants themselves seek and understand to be protection, or 'protection consciousness' (socio-legal perspective), and looks at Morocco’s Africa diplomacy regarding asylum and migrants’ rights (critical policy perspective).
Promoter(s): Ellen Desmet
Researcher(s): Ruben Wissing
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Law and Criminology
Period of time: 2018 - 2022

Description: People are forced to flee their country for numerous reasons, one of them could be the persecution they fear on the ground of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). My research listens to the experiences of SOGI applicants for international protection in Belgium: in the reception centres, with LGBTIQ+ organisations and during their asylum interview. Their experiences, narratives and self-identification are all shaped by the people and systems they encounter, and those they eventually need to convince of the credibility of their SOGI - which might be different from what fits within the dominant Western LGBTIQ+ discourse of the listener-assessor.
Promoter(s): Ellen Desmet , Marlies Casier
Researcher(s): Liselot Casteleyn
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Law and Criminology
Period of time: 2020 - 2024

Description: My research centers around space, identity, minorities, and mobilities in general. I have specifically written on Muslim minorities in the United States and Europe, minorities in Turkey, and history of geographic thought. I am particularly interested in the role of place in constructing identities, drawing boundaries and maintaining differences. Uneven power relations are at the center of my analysis. I believe that without understanding power relations and the role of place in power struggles, one cannot fully understand the contextuality, contingency and complexity of mobility, space and identity. Discourses produced, policies formed, narratives and memories created reflect complex power relations. The power to define, to draw boundaries, to dominate, to resist, to create and maintain differences is a central issue in mobilities and identities, whether it is immigration or emigration, integration or assimilation, reconciliation or alienation.
Promoter(s): Ilse Derluyn
Researcher(s): Ilhan Kaya
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Period of time: 2021 - 2022

Description: The STAMINA project (2022-2026) aims to gain a better understanding of mental health stigma among ethnic minority and majority adolescents in Flanders and examines how the school plays a role in this, more specific, social relationships with peers and teachers, the school culture, the school structure and the mental health school policy. It is funded by FWO and carried out under the supervision of Dr. Fanny D’hondt from the research group CuDOS (Department of Sociology), and Dr. Melissa Ceuterick and Prof. Piet Bracke from the resaerch group Hedera (Department of Sociology).
Website research project: https://www.ugent.be/ps/sociologie/en/researchgroups/hedera/research-projects/stamina-project.htm
Promoter(s): Piet Bracke , Fanny D'hondt , Melissa Ceuterick
Researcher(s): Lies Saelens
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
Period of time: 2022 - 2026

Description: Ethnic minorities are often confronted with racism, which increases their probability of developing mental health issues significantly. Yet, studies show that they receive far less or inadequate mental health care than the dominant ethnic group. Recent studies have illustrated the importance of negative attitudes and interpersonal racism. However, up until now, the impact of structural dimensions of racism on mental health care have hardly been studied. Building on a theoretical framework developed by Fanon and Hook, this PhD study aism to discern structural and cultural racism within current mental health care institutions, by conducting a series of qualitative studies focusing on the subjective experience of both professionals and ethnic minority patients.
Promoter(s): Stijn Vanheule
Researcher(s): Lotte Morel
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Period of time: 2023 - 2027