Transitioning from Survival to Sustainable Livelihoods: Challenges Faced by Refugee Women in South Africa

South Africa attracts thousands of refugees and is regarded as a key destination for migrants on the African continent. Although the country has ratified international and regional conventions on refugees, many refugee women face enormous challenges to attain basic civil, social and economic rights. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study explored the challenges that refugee women encounter in shifting from survival to sustainable livelihood strategies. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 23 refugee women participants for the study. Data was collected through one-on-one interviews and analysed using thematic data analysis. The findings show that most refugee women find it extremely difficult to find an adequate job despite being educated or having stayed in the country for a considerable period. If they do get a job, it is mostly part-time. Due to a lack of decent work, their income remains low, which in turn influences their access to health services, further education, education for their children, adequate shelter, and food security. The study concludes that the socio-economic challenges that refugee women face keep them trapped in poverty and expose them to discrimination, violence, exclusion, and humiliation. The study recommends that strategies be developed to increase the provision of social protection and promote basic civil, social and economic rights for refugee women.