Cultural Perceptions of Justice Among Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Keywords:
refugees, asylum seekers, cultural perceptions, justice, legal consciousness, procedural justice, legal status, Tehran, qualitative researchAbstract
This study aimed to explore how refugees and asylum seekers living in Tehran culturally understand justice, institutional fairness, legal recognition, and access to protection in everyday encounters with state, legal, humanitarian, and social institutions. This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 26 refugees and asylum seekers residing in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to include variation in gender, age, country of origin, length of stay, legal status, education, and family situation. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached. The interviews explored participants’ experiences of legal documentation, encounters with administrative and justice institutions, perceived fairness, discrimination, cultural expectations of justice, and strategies for seeking help. Interviews were audio-recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim, anonymized, and analyzed through thematic analysis. NVivo software was used to organize codes, compare cases, develop categories, and construct final themes. Analysis generated four main categories: justice as respectful recognition, justice as legal security, justice as culturally meaningful fairness, and justice as accessible protection. Participants did not define justice only through formal law or court access; rather, justice was understood as being listened to, treated with dignity, protected from arbitrary decisions, and recognized as persons with histories, families, needs, and rights. Legal uncertainty, documentation problems, language barriers, discrimination, and limited knowledge of rights weakened trust in institutions. At the same time, participants valued institutions and officers who explained decisions clearly, respected cultural differences, and provided practical routes to assistance. Refugees’ and asylum seekers’ perceptions of justice are shaped by the intersection of legal status, cultural memory, displacement experience, institutional encounters, and everyday social treatment. Justice becomes meaningful when formal legal procedures are combined with dignity, clarity, cultural sensitivity, and accessible protection. Policies aimed at refugee justice should therefore move beyond procedural availability and address communication, recognition, legal literacy, interpretation, and protection from discrimination.
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