Event reports
“Almost every woman and girl in
the Balukhali makeshift settlements
(which make up approximately 65%
of the refugees) in Cox’s Bazar is
either a survivor of or a witness to
multiple incidents of sexual assault,
rape, gang rape, murder through
mutilation or burning alive of a
close family member or neighbour.
Women and girls have experienced
sexual and gender based violence,
perpetrated by both the Myanmar
army and by Rakhine locals,” UN
Women reported.
In October 2016, violent conflict
began in Rakhine State. Between
August and October 2017, an
estimated 537,000 Rohingya
refugees had crossed the border
into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The
distressed and traumatised displaced
population – approximately 51% of
whom are women and girls – live
in terrible conditions, lacking basic necessities like adequate food, water
and sanitation.
The crisis, which is yet to be resolved,
disproportionately affects women, girls
and the most vulnerable and marginalised
Rohingya refugee population groups
by reinforcing, perpetuating and
exacerbating pre-existing, persistent
gender inequalities, gender-based
violence and discrimination.
The situation is not any better for the
biggest refugee crisis facing Europe
since the end of World War II, the Syrian
refugee crisis. Now in its eighth year,
the Syrian civil war has led to a mass
influx of refugees into the European
border countries of Turkey and Greece,
as well as Germany. The refugees have
also fled to the U.S. and Canada. Syria’s
Asian neighbours, Lebanon and Jordan,
have not been spared the refugee influx
either. Europe also receives refugees
from Africa who brave the dangerous
crossing on the Mediterranean Sea,
mainly from the Libyan coast into Italy.
The infographic published by the Child
Protection Hub for South East Europe
looked at the demographics of the
refugee population arriving in Europe
with a special focus on women and
girls. It summarised key problematic
areas that make refugee women’s and
girls’ experience tougher owing to the
gender perceptions.
In June 2015, the percentage of people
arriving in Europe who were women
and children was 27%. Five months
later, in November, it increased to 40%,
and then shot up to 55% in January
2016. This means war or conflict
displaced more women and children
than men. Yet despite this sharp rise,
Child Protection Hub for South East
Europe noted: “The specific needs and
risks of girls and women, who are more
vulnerable to matters such as sexual
assault and exploitation, are not taken
into consideration sufficiently.”
For the Rohingya refugees, UN Women
reported that many women whose
sexual assault resulted in conception
are reported to have sought out
abortions after arriving in Bangladesh.
“This is a frightening reminder that
sexual and gender based violence are
among the most horrific weapons of war,
instruments of terror most often used
against women,” UN Women stated.
In Uganda, as at 31 December 2017, the
country was hosting 1,336,898 refugees
and asylum seekers. Of these, 689,049
(52%) were females and 647,849 (48%)
were males. Gender-based violence is
often rife in crisis and fragile settings
and women and children suffer
most. UNHCR coordinates all sexual
and gender-based violence (SGBV)
interventions in refugee settlements in
Uganda in coordination with the Office
of the Prime Minister (OPM), UNFPA, UN
WOMEN, UNICEF and partners.
In its 2017 report on SGBV, UNHCR
stated that 5001 new incidents (4,487
females, at 90%) were identified,
managed, documented and reported
from 12 refugee settlements in Uganda.
The most prevalent were physical
assault (1,640, at 33%) followed by
psychological/emotional abuse (1,210,
at 24%), rape (1,035, at 21%), denial
of resources (551, at 11%), sexual
assault (308, at 6%) and forced/early
marriage (257, at 5%). The reported
incidents occurred in both the country
of origin and the country of asylum.
In January 2018, UNHCR reported that
reductions in food assistance in place
since August 2016 for refugees who
arrived prior to July 2015 have led
many refugees, including children, to
cope by eating one meal a day and
by foregoing essential nutrients. This
is the same time when reports of
economic and sexual exploitation
of girls and women refugees have
been massive, particularly the
exchange of food for sex.
There have also been human
trafficking and sexual slavery
involving women and underage
girls. In a media interview with
the Daily Monitor newspaper,
Bornwell Kantende, the UNHCR
Country Representative in Uganda,
lamented the existence of such
incidents. “These are serious issues
which touch on the dignity of
refugees, and we do everything we
can to address them, so the victims
can keep reporting them,” he said.
He, however, stated that measures
are being implemented to address
the problem: “The allegations are
taken seriously and we do have a
very strict regime in dealing with
them. We have a zero tolerance for
sex abuse and exploitation.”
Funding is a strong factor in
humanitarian action. But while
funding can be a game-changer,
there are disparities in funding
that specifically address gender
issues in crisis settings. According
to women’s rights advocacy
organisation, Women Deliver, in
2014, less than 1% of aid to fragile
states targeted gender equality
significantly. In 2017, Uganda held
the Uganda Solidarity Summit for
Refugees to try to raise money to
respond to the growing refugee
crisis. Though USD 358 million
or USh.1.2 trillion was pledged,
what percentage of this would
specifically address gender factors,
no one knows. It also remains to
be seen how the world and Uganda
will effectively address or respond
to the growing refugee crises where
gender disparities are apparent.
JANET NAMAYENGO