Women and girls ‘failed’ by international response in Syria
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Version 0 of 1. Commitments to protect Syrian women and girls from sexual abuse, exploitation and early marriage have not been backed by practical action, which has had devastating consequences, according to a report published on Thursday. The report published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) details chronic abuse and harassment experienced by women and girls over the past three years. One in three of those interviewed said they felt too scared or overwhelmed to leave their homes. The IRC said the testimonies of more than 70,000 women and girls in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, highlighted the failure of the international community to follow through on the numerous commitments it has made to protect women over the years. It is demanding that the concerns of women and girls are moved from the margins to the centre of the international response. “When crisis occurs, people who have lost or fled their homes need urgent assistance: water, food, shelter and medical care. It is essential that these basic needs be met. But for women and girls, meeting the basic needs is not the only lifesaving action required. In times of crisis, women are at enormous risk of physical and sexual violence - from armed groups, strangers, neighbours and even family members,” said the report. “Women told us they fear for the safety of their daughters and often make choices meant to protect them in the short-term, knowing these decisions could harm them in the long-term. The reality is these women do not have clear or easy choices to make for themselves or for their children. Safety eludes women and girls, as violence and the ever-present threat of violence follow them from the conflict into their place of refuge - the home.” Layla, a 32-year-old woman in Lebanon, told the IRC: “The young men are harassing women; they are really trespassing [into our lives]... regardless of age, harassment is happening.” Thana, a 42-year-old woman in Jordan, said her daughter had been propositioned when she tried to get a job. “My teenage daughter was applying for a job when the shop owner said to her, ‘I crave you, if you refuse to give yourself to me then you can forget about a job’.” Meanwhile , Sabeen, a 15-year-old girl in Lebanon, said she was forced into marriage to ease the financial burden on her family. “I told my father that I didn’t want to get married, that I didn’t love this man... However, less than a week later I was called into the house and found a sheikh waiting with my father and future husband. We were wed right there and then, it was a total shock for me, but I wasn’t able to anything to stop it.” Based on its conversations, the IRC has made eight recommendations. These include talking to women and girls affected by conflict so services can be designed to meet their needs, ensuring measures are in place to protect women and girls from violence, including domestic violence, which often increases in times of conflict - and to effectively evaluate these measures. Women and girls should also be registered separately in camps and in urban settings, rather than solely under the registration of their husbands, to allow them access to services without being dependent on a man, and adolescents should be given safe spaces to meet and receive support. Heidi Lehmann, senior director of women’s protection and empowerment at the IRC, and one of the report’s authors, said: “If implemented, these recommendations would dramatically improve daily life for displaced Syrian women and girls. “We know they are workable and IRC seeks collaboration with agencies operating across the region to achieve them. It’s time to move the international response on from conversation and piecemeal implementation to a wholesale change in thinking and delivering much needed services for displaced women and girls.” Governments have made a number of commitments to protect women and girls in conflict, but women’s rights groups and NGOs have often questioned their effectiveness. UN security council resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, was considered a landmark agreement because for the first time member states recognised that women and girls were disproportionately affected by conflict and agreed that arrangements should be made to guarantee their protection. It also made explicit mention of women’s central role in peace and reconciliation processes, and called on UN missions to consult with local women’s groups to ensure their work had a clear gender dimension. Most recently, the UK hosted the ending sexual violence in conflict summit, at which governments signed up to a protocol to end impunity for sexual abuse and violence. |