Around the world, up to six of every ten women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.* During war or other humanitarian crises—such as the famine and conflict currently occurring in the Horn of Africa—the risks to women and girls are further heightened. With the breakdown of moral and social order that occurs during emergencies, they are particularly vulnerable to physical abuse and exploitation, rape and human trafficking. Perpetrators may be family members, neighbors or others in the community, members of armed groups or in some instances, humanitarian workers. Even after a crisis abates, gender-based violence (GBV) may continue at high levels as communities struggle to heal and rebuild.

For survivors, the impact doesn’t end when the violence ends; those who have suffered it often face severe psychological trauma and stigma from their communities. Many struggle to participate in education, to care for children and other relatives or to be active in community affairs. And because women are the linchpin of families and communities, particularly during conflict and post-conflict periods, GBV can be a major barrier to future stability, reconstruction and development in war-torn areas.

Gender-based violence is usually committed against women and girls, although sexual violence against men and boys also does occur in conflict and post-conflict settings and must be addressed.

To date the majority of programs addressing GBV have emphasized the response—that is, caring for survivors after the violence has occurred. While it is critical to ensure that all survivors have access to essential care and services, the humanitarian community must also pay much greater attention to programs that help prevent GBV from occurring in the first place.

Women’s Refugee Commission’s Contributions to Addressing GBV

Since its founding in 1989, the Women’s Refugee Commission has been a leading proponent of efforts to promote women’s empowerment, gender equality and protection against gender-based violence. We have advocated for the passage of landmark Security Council resolutions on the protection of women and children. Our groundbreaking 2002 report If Not Now, When? documented the shortcomings of previous efforts to address GBV. This report and others by the Women’s Refugee Commission influenced the development of such standard-setting guidance as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings and the Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action. We have also worked closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on development of its Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls.

Highlights of Our Current Work

The prevention of GBV continues to be a signature element of the Women’s Refugee Commission’s work that goes across many of our programs. Current initiatives include:

• Improving protection by providing safe access to cooking fuel. The risks abound for displaced women and girls who are responsible for finding the cooking fuel to prepare meals for their families. They face physical abuse and sexual assault when they go out to collect firewood and risk lung and other respiratory disease from inhaling cooking smoke in their small shelters. The Women’s Refugee Commission led the Inter-agency Standing Committee's Safe Access to Firewood and alternative Energy (SAFE) task force, which developed guidance to address cooking fuel needs in humanitarian settings. We and our partners are now working to ensure that that this guidance is implemented in areas like the Horn of Africa—where the risks are so high.

• Addressing GBV through strong reproductive health programs. We also continue to advocate for effective programs to prevent and respond to GBV and to ensure that countries provide basic health services to women and girls during times of crisis. The Women’s Refugee Commission helped develop the Minimal Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health in Crisis Situations, which is now the international standard for the provision of essential reproductive health services at the start of an emergency. Key components include preventing sexual violence and providing critical services for survivors of sexual assault. 

• Creating safe economic opportunities for women. Under the Women’s Refugee Commission’s livelihoods program, we have developed guidance and tools for the humanitarian community on how to ensure that economic programs for displaced women are effective and safe. In too many humanitarian settings, the livelihoods available to women put very little money in their pockets and often expose them to abuse and exploitation. We are catalyzing the humanitarian community to rethink economic programs. We are training organizations around the world on how to lessen the risks of GBV through well-designed livelihoods programs, and we have developed an e-learning course on these themes as well as a report, Peril or Protection: The Link Between Livelihoods and Gender-based Violence in Displacement Settings.

• Building the agency and social capital of adolescent girls. Research has shown that almost 50 percent of survivors of sexual assault are under 18 years of age. Inequitable social norms often make it difficult for adolescent girls to realize their rights and protect themselves from harm. Displaced adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable. The Women’s Refugee Commission is identifying and working with local women’s and youth groups to design projects that will build the self-esteem, life skills and economic prospects for adolescent girls so that they can have more control over their lives and well-being. The project is being piloted in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda and will identify the most successful ways for displaced girls to empower themselves.

* http://www.unwomen.org/focus-areas/?show=Violence_against_Women