The use of big data to address refugee victimization: A scoping review

Abstract

This scoping review maps the empirical landscape of how Big Data has been used in the context of refugee victimization. Drawing on six empirical studies published between 2021 and 2022, identified through a systematic search across four electronic databases, the review examines the ways Big Data has been used to detect, represent, and respond to violence, exclusion, and neglect affecting refugees. The findings reveal that, while Big Data offers significant potential to enhance visibility, inform protective measures, and guide institutional responses, it also raises critical ethical challenges related to privacy, representativeness, algorithmic bias, and digital exclusion. Through a descriptive-analytical approach, the review underscores the dual role of Big Data: as both a means of addressing vulnerability and a mechanism that can inadvertently generate new forms of harm or reinforce existing inequalities. By offering a critical synthesis of the empirical literature, this review contributes to ongoing debates in refugee studies, highlighting the urgent need for context- sensitive, participatory, and ethically robust approaches to the use of Big Data in this context.