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Displaced Women and Children Tsunami Survivors Need Immediate Protection From Trafficking and Abuse

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children urges the international community to prioritize the protection of displaced women and children survivors of southeast Asia’s devastating tsunami. Children are in particular danger of trafficking, while women are at risk of abuse and exploitation as a result of their vulnerable situation.

“When children lose their traditional support systems, they become more susceptible to trafficking, which has long been a problem in Southeast Asia,” says Wendy Young, director of external relations. “Traffickers prey on people who are increasingly desperate to escape their situation, as many in the countries hardest hit by the tsunami are. Without adequate protection, the survivors are easy targets, especially the children.”

Displaced children must be registered as soon as possible and other protection measures taken, including deploying child protection advisors and establishing recreational and educational services, often the best way to protect children from traffickers and to help them deal with their trauma. The United Nations and international organizations should work closely with the many regional and local nongovernmental organizations to raise awareness of trafficking and to implement appropriate protection and assistance programs.

Displaced and refugee women are at particular risk of sexual abuse and exploitation with the loss of their families and communities. Security measures must be undertaken to ensure their safe access to shelter, food, water and health care, including for survivors of sexual violence.

Vital reproductive health services must be a priority. In any displaced population, approximately 25 percent of women of childbearing age will be pregnant, while some will be close to giving birth and need clean delivery materials. In addition, 15 percent of pregnant women will suffer from unforeseen complications of pregnancy and childbirth, necessitating their access to life-saving emergency obstetric care.

“Adequate assistance from the international community is vital to support the programs that would protect child survivors from trafficking and meet the lifesaving reproductive health needs of displaced women,” Young says. “We must do all we can to ensure that the children and women who survived the devastation do not fall prey to another kind of trauma.”