WRC in Focus: Monitoring and Mitigating Harm to Women and Girls Resulting from US Policy
A Time of Quick and Devastating Change
Since the start of 2025, sweeping policy shifts and devastating funding cuts in the United States have triggered a global crisis—one that has left displaced women and girls increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
From the US-Mexico border to migrant shelters in Central America, from the civil war in Sudan to the recent earthquake in Myanmar, the fallout is clear: vital humanitarian programs are shutting down, asylum pathways are closing, and protections for women and girls are disappearing.
WRC is the only organization that is solely focused on monitoring and mitigating the harms of US policy changes and foreign aid cuts specifically to displaced women and girls.
Women and Girls Are at Greater Risk
Displacement always hits women and girls hardest—but today’s challenges are unlike any we’ve faced before. Humanitarian aid cuts have forced agencies to abandon many services for women, including job training, health care, and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention. Asylum bans have stranded thousands of mothers and children in dangerous conditions while immigration enforcement in schools, hospitals, and shelters has created fear and barriers to lifesaving care. Detention policies separate families and heighten risks of abuse, and oversight over detention conditions and immigration enforcement is collapsing, leaving women and girls with no way to protect their civil and human rights.
WRC in Action
In the face of these unprecedented crises, WRC is undertaking on-the-ground research and advocacy that responds in real time to change.
1. Research and Policy Monitoring
We are:
- Tracking the gendered impact of US policies in crisis zones.
- Conducting field missions across Central America and beyond.
- Publishing quarterly reports to expose hidden harms and inform change.
- Monitoring and publicizing harms to immigrant women in detention.
2. Advocacy and Policy Response
We are:
- Sounding the alarm on dangerous laws and policies.
- Pushing for oversight in immigration detention.
- Protecting access to removed or censored US humanitarian guidance.
3. Coalition Building
We are:
- Uniting women’s rights, immigration, and humanitarian actors.
- Convening global leaders to safeguard gender expertise in crises.
4. Direct Support
We are:
- Equipping migrant parents with critical tools to protect their families.
- Influencing global humanitarian decisions to center women and girls.
Our Advocacy and Resources
WRC offers a comprehensive collection of resources aimed at monitoring and mitigating crises affecting displaced women and girls. These materials provide valuable insights and practical guidance for practitioners, policymakers, and organizations involved in humanitarian response.
Aftershocks: The Toll of US Funding Cuts on Displaced Women and Girls in Myanmar’s Polycrisis
This brief outlines the vulnerabilities and risks faced by women and girls in Myanmar in the aftermath of the March 2025 earthquake, and the impact of US funding cuts.
This report exposes the severe impact of recent US migration policy changes on vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers in Costa Rica.
This brief proposes several recommendations to promote orderly and safe migration throughout the region.
In Her Own Words: Voices of Sudan, Full Report
This report showcases the stories of more than 20 internally displaced and refugee Sudanese women from all walks of life.
Sudan: Different Needs, Ignored Priorities
This scoping paper reviews to what extent assessments of the crisis in Sudan reflect findings of the different impact of the crisis on women, men, girls, and boys.
Detained or Deported: What About My Children?
This toolkit provides detained and deported immigrant and undocumented mothers and fathers with crucial information they need to protect and maintain parental rights and make well-informed, critical decisions regarding the care and welfare of their children.
Make a Plan: Essential Steps for Migrant Parents for Preventing Family Separation
Factsheet on how migrant parents can make a plan for preventing family separation.
What to Do If You Are Detained: Essential Steps for Migrant Parents for Preventing Family Separation
Factsheet on what to do if you are detained to prevent family separation.
This report contains recommendations to ensure continuity of family planning services across shocks and stressors.
Contraceptive Services in Crises: Lifesaving and a Human Right—But Under Prioritized
This synopsis outlines the Women’s Refugee Commission’s findings and recommendations on providing contraceptive services to people affected by crises.
These resources are part of WRC’s broader efforts to improve humanitarian responses and ensure the safety, health, and rights of displaced women and girls. For a more extensive collection of reports, field manuals, and tools, visit the WRC Research and Resource Library.
