From limbo to belonging: participation through physical and recreational activities among Ukrainian women under temporary protection in Finland

Abstract

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to the activation of the European Union's Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), allowing millions of displaced Ukrainians to settle temporarily across Europe. While temporary protection (TP) provides immediate access to residency, employment, and social services, it also creates prolonged uncertainty about the future. Existing research increasingly recognises the role of sport in supporting the integration of forced migrants. Yet most studies focus on permanent settlement trajectories and overlook how temporary legal status, gender, and uncertainty shape participation. This thesis examines how Ukrainian women under temporary protection experience participation in physical and recreational activities in the Turku region of Finland and what these experiences reveal about social inclusion, belonging, and everyday life under TP. The study adopts a socio-legal mixed-methods approach, combining an analysis of international, European, and Finnish legal and policy frameworks with empirical research consisting of semi-structured interviews with service providers and a questionnaire completed by Ukrainian women under temporary protection. The empirical data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that participation in sport provides opportunities for well-being, routine, social support, and community-building during prolonged uncertainty. At the same time, participation is constrained by interconnected structural and personal barriers, including language, childcare responsibilities, transport, financial costs, information gaps, and temporary legal status. Belonging does not emerge automatically through participation; rather, it develops through trust, familiarity, and socially safe environments, which in turn promote continued participation. The thesis concludes that integration under TP differs from standard integration trajectories. Participation alone is insufficient to help bring about inclusion unless supported by accessible, gender-sensitive, and socially supportive environments. The findings demonstrate that belonging is not only an outcome of participation but also a prerequisite for meaningful participation and long-term inclusion.