Social work within a hostile environment: intersectional approaches to recognising the (potential) vulnerability of young male refugees

Muireann Ní Raghallaigh

Chapter 9 in Handbook on Intersectionality and Social Work, 2026, pp 115-130 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter focuses on the role of social work in the context of refugee policy, exploring this through an intersectionality lens. Using the Republic of Ireland as a case study, it explores how young, ‘single’ male refugees are increasingly viewed by some sectors of society as, at best, ‘not vulnerable’ and, at worst, a threat – referred to as ‘unvetted’ males, with the implication that they will cause harm. The chapter argues that the assumed ‘non-vulnerability’ of young refugee males leads to state policy and practice responses that fail to meet their needs and ultimately serve to ‘vulnerabilise’ them. The chapter explores how social workers, utilising intersectionality theory, can play a key role in moving beyond the singular, homogenising depictions of young refugee males, instead developing an understanding of their multiple intersecting identities.

Keywords: Refugee Men; Vulnerability; Refugee Policy; Social Work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035324453
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