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Friends in precarious spaces : how enforced proximity and social infrastructure shape trust and friendship practices among migrant mothers

Hannah Grondelaers (UGent) and Rachel Benchekroun
(2025) GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE. p.1-20
Author
Organization
Abstract
Women and mothers subjected to legal and financial precarity after migrating are likely to experience particular kinds of support needs, which new friendships may help to address. This article brings together two ethnographic studies: a study of mothers who, with their children, had fled war in Ukraine and were living in an emergency reception centre in Belgium; and a study of mothers from different countries living in the UK with insecure immigration status, most with experiences of sofa-surfing and/or living in shared houses. We show that the physical spaces in which precariously positioned mothers live and interact with others shape how they 'do' friendship. We argue that 'enforced proximity' and 'throwntogetherness' in shared domestic spaces constrain friendship practices, while social infrastructure can present opportunities to form and sustain friendships. Examining the roles of 'reliance trust' and 'confidentiality trust', we highlight the importance of practical and material help as friendship practices in destination countries, whilst underlining how mothers are compelled to exercise caution and avoid certain kinds of self-disclosure. Despite intimacy and confidentiality trust being widely seen as essential building blocks of friendship, we argue that, in the context of precarious migration and motherhood, reliance trust is more important as a means of sharing emotional support.
Keywords
Migration, motherhood, trust, friendship, enforced proximity, social infrastructure

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Grondelaers, Hannah, and Rachel Benchekroun. “Friends in Precarious Spaces : How Enforced Proximity and Social Infrastructure Shape Trust and Friendship Practices among Migrant Mothers.” GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE, 2025, pp. 1–20, doi:10.1080/0966369x.2025.2603367.
APA
Grondelaers, H., & Benchekroun, R. (2025). Friends in precarious spaces : how enforced proximity and social infrastructure shape trust and friendship practices among migrant mothers. GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2025.2603367
Chicago author-date
Grondelaers, Hannah, and Rachel Benchekroun. 2025. “Friends in Precarious Spaces : How Enforced Proximity and Social Infrastructure Shape Trust and Friendship Practices among Migrant Mothers.” GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2025.2603367.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Grondelaers, Hannah, and Rachel Benchekroun. 2025. “Friends in Precarious Spaces : How Enforced Proximity and Social Infrastructure Shape Trust and Friendship Practices among Migrant Mothers.” GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE: 1–20. doi:10.1080/0966369x.2025.2603367.
Vancouver
1.
Grondelaers H, Benchekroun R. Friends in precarious spaces : how enforced proximity and social infrastructure shape trust and friendship practices among migrant mothers. GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE. 2025;1–20.
IEEE
[1]
H. Grondelaers and R. Benchekroun, “Friends in precarious spaces : how enforced proximity and social infrastructure shape trust and friendship practices among migrant mothers,” GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE, pp. 1–20, 2025.
@article{01KFQYFYCN0NZ26YTSVP0JSXPV,
  abstract     = {{Women and mothers subjected to legal and financial precarity after migrating are likely to experience particular kinds of support needs, which new friendships may help to address. This article brings together two ethnographic studies: a study of mothers who, with their children, had fled war in Ukraine and were living in an emergency reception centre in Belgium; and a study of mothers from different countries living in the UK with insecure immigration status, most with experiences of sofa-surfing and/or living in shared houses. We show that the physical spaces in which precariously positioned mothers live and interact with others shape how they 'do' friendship. We argue that 'enforced proximity' and 'throwntogetherness' in shared domestic spaces constrain friendship practices, while social infrastructure can present opportunities to form and sustain friendships. Examining the roles of 'reliance trust' and 'confidentiality trust', we highlight the importance of practical and material help as friendship practices in destination countries, whilst underlining how mothers are compelled to exercise caution and avoid certain kinds of self-disclosure. Despite intimacy and confidentiality trust being widely seen as essential building blocks of friendship, we argue that, in the context of precarious migration and motherhood, reliance trust is more important as a means of sharing emotional support.}},
  author       = {{Grondelaers, Hannah and Benchekroun, Rachel}},
  issn         = {{0966-369X}},
  journal      = {{GENDER PLACE AND CULTURE}},
  keywords     = {{Migration,motherhood,trust,friendship,enforced proximity,social infrastructure}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--20}},
  title        = {{Friends in precarious spaces : how enforced proximity and social infrastructure shape trust and friendship practices among migrant mothers}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2025.2603367}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}
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