War magnifies the everyday injustices that many women live with in peacetime. During periods of armed conflict, all forms of violence increase, particularly violence against women and girls. Women forced to flee their homes are often caught in a vicious cycle of abuse, exposed to sexual exploitation throughout the refugee experience. Sexual and gender-based violence ranges from harassment, domestic violence and rape to female genital mutilation and the withholding of food or other essentials unless paid for with sex.

It is now acknowledged within the humanitarian community that displacement has very specific gender dimensions, and that the protection concerns of refugee women and girls differ in many respects from those of men. For instance, in addition to being disproportionately affected by sexual and gender-based violence, women often do not get equal access to humanitarian assistance and asylum opportunities.

Protection concerns

Sexual and gender-based violence can occur at every stage of the refugee cycle: during flight, while in the country of asylum and during repatriation. For example, in Darfur (Sudan) where civil war has displaced more than a million people, gender-based violence has been rampant. In 2004, Amnesty International conducted interviews with hundreds of internally displaced and refugee women from Darfur, who had suffered rape, abduction, sexual slavery and torture. With the majority of displaced people still trapped across the border, and the widespread stigma of rape keeping many women silent, those interviewed comprised but a small fraction of the total number of victims.

Unfortunately, camps may not always be safe havens for women. Separated from the security offered by extended networks of family and community, unaccompanied women and girls may be regarded by camp guards and male refugees as sexual prey. Those who are lucky enough to flee with their family often find that the tremendous strains of refugee life increase the incidence of domestic violence. Poorly planned camps that do not take into account the needs of women and girls can also expose them to abuse; attacks are more common when women are forced to travel unprotected to remote areas in search of food, water and firewood.

When food and other necessities are in short supply, women may not get a fair share of what is available. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has warned that women in camps get less of everything from plastic sheeting to soap. If men are the sole distributors of food and supplies, the likelihood of sexual exploitation is much higher. Sadly, there have been cases where humanitarian workers and peacekeepers, the very people responsible for the well-being and protection of refugees, have abused their power.

Prevention and response

Due to powerful socio-cultural and legal obstacles, sexual and gender-based violence is one of the most challenging issues for a humanitarian organization. It is an extremely under-reported crime in countries where victims of sexual assault are stigmatized. Women and girls remain silent due to shame and the acute fear of being shunned by their families and communities. Moreover, traditional justice systems do not always provide the victim with protection; verdicts can sometimes result in further human rights violations. In some cultures a woman can be forced to marry her attacker. Many countries of asylum have failed to incorporate into domestic law the provisions in international or regional human rights instruments – which they ratified – on the protection of women. Combined with gender-biased provisions in domestic law, they work to minimize women's opportunities to seek legal recourse.

Throughout the 1990s, UNHCR supported initiatives which addressed sexual and gender-based violence. Published in 1991, UNHCR's Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women went beyond conventional ideas of protection by stressing two very important points: the intrinsic relationship between protection and assistance, and the notion that the participation of refugees in the decision-making process promotes protection. Following the Guidelines, UNHCR came out with a guide for protection officers on sexual and gender-based violence, increasing awareness of the issue, and established legal and counselling services in the field.

In 1993, the Women Victims of Violence Project in Kenya, later passed on by UNHCR to CARE-Kenya, established drop-in centres that enabled women to report sexual violence. In order to reduce the vulnerability and exposure of women to assault while collecting firewood, UNHCR and its implementing partners carried out the Firewood Project in 1997. This assisted with firewood distribution, covering 30 per cent of household firewood consumption in the Dadaab camps in Kenya. In Guinea, the government collaborated with UNHCR and NGOs on education campaigns on women's issues within the refugee community. In the refugee camps for Burundians in Tanzania, UNHCR and its implementing partners focused on awareness-raising and the provision of proper legal, medical and psycho-social support to victims of sexual violence. Efforts were also made to involve more women in health and education activities.

Conclusion

Addressing sexual and gender-based violence has proven a challenge for the humanitarian community, though considerable progress has been made on the issue. While there have been significant efforts over the last two decades to place sexual and gender-based violence on international and national policy agendas, glaring gaps in the protection of women against abuse still exist. According to UNHCR, in 2004 alone 157 incidents of sexual and gender-based violence were reported in Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, 259 cases were recorded in the Dadaab refugee camp area in Kenya, and more than 1,200 cases were documented in refugee camps in Tanzania. These are just some of the instances where women have suffered violence with little recourse to medical, psychological or legal help.

Today, UNHCR is working towards a more coordinated approach to combat sexual and gender-based violence. Known as the multi-sectoral approach, it seeks change through the involvement of all actors who provide services to the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. This approach recognizes that such women and girls may need the support of a number of sectors, including health and community services, the judiciary and law enforcement. When it comes to violence against women, all have a role to play both in preventing it and responding to it.

Future concerns

Box 3.2 The Great Lakes: regional instability and population displacement