Research has identified family separation as a key challenge for personnel with caring responsibilities deploying to UN peace operations, affecting well-being, mental health, and operational performance.
Australia’s renewed focus on defence capability and personnel wellbeing is welcome. Yet one significant factor shaping personnel performance remains largely unaddressed: family separation during deployment.
Research led by the Monash Global Peace and Security (GPS) Centre and funded by Global Affairs Canada as part of the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations has identified family separation as one of the key challenges for personnel with caring responsibilities deploying to UN peace operations, impacting wellbeing, mental health, and performance in peace operations.
Interviews with peacekeepers by Monash GPS reveal this is a significant issue that warrants greater attention and investment. Addressing it would improve the experiences of deployed personnel, enhance operational effectiveness by reducing stressors, and encourage more personnel, particularly women, to deploy.
What Is The Issue?
For peacekeepers, caring responsibilities do not stop when they are away. Many describe the additional work required to manage and fulfil their caring responsibilities while away, including maintaining regular contact and a daily routine, and the resources needed to organise care in their absence.
The research found that family separation affects the well-being and mental health of peacekeepers and can also strain their relationships. The stress of being away from their family is often compounded by working in a high-pressure environment.
It can lead to feelings of guilt about being absent and distracted at work. Many feel anxious when they are unable to communicate frequently due to work schedules, time differences, unstable internet, or a lack of private spaces. One British military officer explains: “That emotional guilt starts to kick in as well: Have I done the right thing [going] on tour…[or] being in the army? Am I doing the right thing staying in the army?”
In addition, many peacekeepers are unable to travel home during their rest and recuperation (R&R) period, either due to financial constraints, distance or insufficient time to travel home and back to the mission. One peacekeeper at the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) recalls a colleague who was stressed and “crying every day” because she could not afford a ticket home to see her children.
According to a military officer at UNHQ, the “anxiousness of not being able to communicate is harder than actually being absent.” To overcome this, some peacekeepers have found innovative ways to remain engaged with their families at home. For instance, peacekeepers in the UN mission in Cyprus report that having access to video games while on the mission helped them bond with their children while away.
Who Does It Impact?
Although separation from families impacts personnel regardless of their gender, our research finds that women are expected to continue the bulk of care work while deployed. In interviews with Monash GPS, female peacekeepers describe organising and managing care while away, including childcare and medical appointments for older family members. They also describe guilt and social stigma for being away from their children.
Separation also impacts the family members at home. For instance, partners or other family members may assume additional caregiving responsibilities, and relationships may be strained, potentially leading to divorce upon peacekeepers’ return. It can also affect children’s well-being, as they may “grow up without one parent who is always in the field,” says a staff member at UNMISS. Several peacekeepers, both men and women, share instances in which their children grew distant and “don’t want to speak to me anymore” (male police officer at the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)). Some also face challenges with their children’s behaviour and education.
What Can Be Done About It?
Australia and other troop and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs), as well as the UN, can improve support for personnel to manage their caring responsibilities while deployed and reduce the negative impacts of family separation. First, include care in pre-deployment training to help personnel and their families prepare for separation and know what support is available.
Additionally, during deployment, T/PCCs should ensure access to reliable internet and private spaces. Leadership should also ensure personnel have a regular time to call home. Additional support can be provided to return home during R&R, including covering travel time and increasing financial support for those on longer deployments.
Support can also include education packages, healthcare and financial assistance for care in their absence. For instance, to increase the number of women deploying to peace operations, Uruguay has introduced a family grant scheme to assist with educational expenses during deployment, enabling parents to cover school transportation or access tutoring. While other peacekeepers interviewed by Monash GPS suggest that increasing access to psychosocial services in the mission will help manage stress, support personnel’s mental health and well-being, and destigmatise self-care and help-seeking..
There are also ways T/PCCs can support returning peacekeepers, including providing guidance and assistance to help personnel and their families with reintegration and reconnection, and access to counselling and family support services.
Benefits of Addressing the Issue
Addressing the stress of family separation among deployed personnel will mitigate negative mental and physical health outcomes. This reduces the risk of negative coping mechanisms, burnout, depression, and harmful behaviours (towards the self or others), and promotes self-care and wellbeing, which, participants noted, “in turn positively impacts their performance, commitment, and job satisfaction” (according to one research participant).
Supporting personnel in managing family separation is not a peripheral or private matter. Rather, it is central to performance, retention and operational success. Institutions that take care seriously are better placed to build a capable, diverse, and resilient workforce.
Lauren Lowe is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, Australia, examining gender and Kosovo’s peace process. She is also a research officer at the Monash Global Peace and Security (GPS) Centre researching women’s participation in peacebuilding and peacekeeping.
This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.
