Articles

Mothers Experiencing Legal and Financial Precarity Post-Migration: Solidarity Practices, Everyday Resistance and the Role of Social Infrastructure

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Abstract

Restrictive immigration policies across Europe intersect with socio-economic structures, increasing the risks of precarity, exploitation and abuse faced by many women and mothers. This can be understood as ‘structural’ or ‘slow’ violence, and in the UK particularly affects racially minoritised mothers with insecure immigration statuses experiencing financial hardship. Drawing on my ethnographic research in London, UK, this article explores how precariously positioned mothers engage in solidarity practices which are infused with everyday resistance, and how social infrastructure shapes these practices. I identify six solidarity practices: reaching out and providing recognition; sharing material and financial resources; sharing information and practical help; informal hosting; providing advice and advocacy; and sharing emotional support. The article shows how solidarity practices are entwined with everyday resistance, and highlights how social infrastructure can facilitate mobilisation of intersecting identities, supporting such solidarity practices. It also calls attention to the tensions that can emerge within everyday solidarity practices.

Keywords: mothers, social infrastructure, everyday resistance, solidarity practices, intersecting identities, insecure immigration status, migration

How to Cite:

Benchekroun, R., (2024) “Mothers Experiencing Legal and Financial Precarity Post-Migration: Solidarity Practices, Everyday Resistance and the Role of Social Infrastructure”, DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies 11(2), 115-130. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/digest.90128