At skabe en omsorgsperson

Abstract: Forced migration and encampment affect gender relations. This article demonstrates a tension in the Danish asylum regime between the gender mainstreaming objective prominent in integration discourse and policy and the actual practices of the camp activation employees tasked with preparing asylum seekers for integration in Denmark. Based on four cases derived from a qualitative study of the 2003 Danish activation program for adult asylum seekers, the study identifies barriers to the equal access of women to the public sphere, particularly the lack of structural and social support for familial carework. It is argued that the objective of gender equality is hampered by frames of exceptionalism and bureaucratization that influence the outcome of the encounters in the job center to reinforce ‘traditional’ gender roles and confine asylum seeking women with dependant relatives to the private sphere.