Gender-based violence in refugee settings

Responding to sexual violence in armed conflict

This summarizes proceedings of a Scientific Research Planning Meeting on Sexual Violence and HIV transmission, convened by the Social Science Research Council on 19–20 March 2012 at the Greentree Foundation in New York. The Meeting brought together an interdisciplinary group of basic, clinical, epidemiological and social science researchers and policy makers with the aim of: (1) examining what is known about the physiology of sexual violence and its role in HIV transmission, acquisition and pathogenesis; (2) specifying factors that distinguish risks throughout the maturation of the female genital tract, the reproductive cycle and among post-menopausal women; and (3) developing a research agenda to explore unanswered questions. The Meeting resulted in a consensus Research Agenda and White Paper that identify priorities for HIV research, policy and practice as it pertains to the role of sexual violence and genital injury in HIV transmission, acquisition and pathogenesis, particularly among women and girls.

Ending sexual violence in conflict and beyond

Detention, denial, and death: migration hazards for refugee children.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been called the ‘worst place in the world’ for women, with reports of widespread and horrific incidents of rape and sexual violence and almost complete impunity for the perpetrators of such violence. However, despite the high profile media reporting on sexual violence in the DRC, and the widely publicized responses of the international community, there is still very little real analysis of the real situation of women in the country. This book provides such detailed analysis of gender relations in the DRC, and goes beyond the usual explanations of sexual violence as a product of conflict, to examine the complex and socially constructed gender norms and roles which underlie incidences of violence. The book benefits from a comprehensive account of men’s and women’s roles in conflict, violence, peace building and reconstruction, and evaluates the impacts of national and international political responses. In doing so, this book provides valuable new evidence and analysis of the complex and multilayered conflicts in the DRC.Contents : Introduction ; Gender relations in pre- and post-colonial Congo ; Gender and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo ; Sexual and gender-based violence : merely a product of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo ? ; Gender and peacebuilding ; Women’s political participation and representation : or why are women still excluded from politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo ? ; International responses : are they effective ? ; Conclusions ; Bibliography ; Index.

There is limited evidence on the relationship between disability, experiences of gender-based violence (GBV), and mental health among refugee women in humanitarian contexts. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of baseline data (n = 209) collected from women enrolled in a cohort study of refugee women accessing GBV response services in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Women were surveyed about GBV experiences (past 12 months, before the last 12 months, before arriving in the refugee camps), functional disability status, and mental health (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress), and we explored the inter-relationship of these factors. Among women accessing GBV response services, 44% reported a disability. A higher proportion of women with a disability (69%) reported a past-year experience of physical intimate partner violence and/or physical or sexual non-partner violence, compared to women without a disability (54%). A higher proportion of women with a disability (32%) experienced non-partner physical or sexual violence before arriving in the camp compared to women without a disability (16%). Disability was associated with higher scores for depression (1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54-3.33), PTSD (2.26, 95% CI 0.03-4.49), and anxiety (1.54, 95% CI 0.13-2.95) after adjusting for age, length of encampment, partner status, number of children, and GBV indicators. A large proportion of refugee women seeking GBV response services have disabilities, and refugee women with a disability are at high risk of poor mental health. This research highlights the need for mental health and disability screening within GBV response programming.

BackgroundHigh levels of gender-based violence (GBV) persist among conflict-affected populations and within humanitarian settings and are paralleled by under-reporting and low service utilization. Novel and evidence-based approaches are necessary to change the current state of GBV amongst these populations. We present the findings of qualitative research, which were used to inform the development of a screening tool as one potential strategy to identify and respond to GBV for females in humanitarian settings.MethodsQualitative research methods were conducted from January-February 2011 to explore the range of experiences of GBV and barriers to reporting GBV among female refugees. Individual interview participants (n=37) included female refugees (≥15 years), who were survivors of GBV, living in urban or one of three camps settings in Ethiopia, and originating from six conflict countries. Focus group discussion participants (11 groups; 77 participants) included health, protection and community service staff working in the urban or camp settings. Interviews and discussions were conducted in the language of preference, with assistance by interpreters when needed, and transcribed for analysis by grounded-theory technique.ResultsSingle and multiple counts of GBV were reported and ranged from psychological and social violence; rape, gang rape, sexual coercion, and other sexual violence; abduction; and physical violence. Domestic violence was predominantly reported to occur when participants were living in the host country. Opportunistic violence, often manifested by rape, occurred during transit when women depended on others to reach their destination. Abduction within the host country, and often across borders, highlighted the constant state of vulnerability of refugees. Barriers to reporting included perceived and experienced stigma in health settings and in the wider community, lack of awareness of services, and inability to protect children while mothers sought services.ConclusionsFindings demonstrate that GBV persists across the span of the refugee experience, though there is a transition in the range of perpetrators and types of GBV that are experienced. Further, survivors experience significant individual and system barriers to disclosure and service utilization. The findings suggest that routine GBV screening by skilled service providers offers a strategy to confidentially identify and refer survivors to needed services within refugee settings, potentially enabling survivors to overcome existing barriers.

Evidence for the implementation of contraceptive services in humanitarian settings

Petition for a Comprehensive Law against Gender-Based Violence in Cuba

Violence against Women and Girls: Female Filmmakers Critique the Menace

Migrant women and sexual and gender-based violence at the Colombia-Venezuela border: A qualitative study

Sexual violence constitutes a set of offences established by international law, particularly after the establishment of the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals and the permanent International Criminal Court. This chapter presents an overview of the situation regarding gender-based violence in the recent and ongoing Russian-Ukrainian dispute over Crimea. Especially in the regions of Eastern Ukraine, many cases of human rights violations, including evidence of sexual violence in the areas affected by military operations, are recorded in the reports of various international bodies. Meanwhile, Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working for gender equality have presented findings highlighting incidents of sexual violence that are punishable under the International Criminal Court’s statute, including threats of rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as methods of ill-treatment and torture in the context of sexual abuse, primarily against women and men. Considering that the Russian-Ukrainian war is still under preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court, the breakdown in the rule of law in conflict-affected areas in Ukraine has increased the vulnerability towards sexual and gender-based violence, including both crimes related to the jurisdiction of the Court, and also domestic sexual violence. The related reports have shown that there is not much information on the armed conflict situation in Ukraine in which sexual violence has been widely or systematically employed against civilians in general. As documented, most incidents of sexual violence have taken place under a regime of the illegal detention of women, often followed by various forms of sexual violence against them by members of illegal armed forces. The International Criminal Court is conducting an in-depth analysis of received information related to this conflict in order to establish a reasonable connection between the alleged crimes and the jurisdiction of the court. The main question in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war is whether the International Criminal Court, as a permanent and established holdover of international criminal justice will continue to face, in addition to its statutory provision, crimes against sexual violence to the extent they deserve, given their heinous nature and the particular and growing needs of the victims.

Delivering integrated sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) in emergencies is important in order to save lives of the most vulnerable as well as to combat poverty, reduce inequities and social injustice. More than 60% of preventable maternal deaths occur in conflict areas and especially among the internally displaced persons (IDP). Between 2016 and 2018, unprecedented violence erupted in the Kasaï's region, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), called the Kamuina Nsapu Insurgency. During that period, an estimated three million of adolescent girls and women were forced to flee; and have faced growing threat to their health, safety, security, and well-being including significant sexual and reproductive health challenges. Between August 2016 and May 2017, the "Sous-Cluster sur les violences basées sur le genre (SC-VBG)" in DRC (2017) reported 1,429 Gender Based Violence (GBV) incidents in the 49 service delivery points in the provinces of Kasaï, Kasaï Central and Kasaï Oriental. Rape cases represented 79% of reported incidents whereas sexual assault and forced marriage accounted for respectively 11% and 4% of Gender Based Violence (GBV) among women and adolescent girls. This study aims to assess the availability of SRHS in the displaced camps in Kasaï; to evaluate the SRHS needs of young girls and women in the reproductive age (12-49). Studies of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have often included adolescent girls under the age of 15 because of high prevalence of child marriage and early onset of childbearing, especially in the humanitarian context. According to the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), about 16% of surveyed women got married by age 14 while the prevalence of early child marriage (marriage by 15) was estimated at 30%; to assess the use of SRHS services and identify barriers as well as challenges for SRH service delivery and use. Findings from this study will help provide evidence to inform towards more needs-based and responsive SRH service delivery. This is hoped for ultimately improve the quality and effectiveness of services, when considering service delivery and response in humanitarian settings. We will conduct a mixed-methods study design, which will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based on the estimation of the sample size, quantitative data will be drawn from the community-based survey (500 women of reproductive age per site) and health facility assessments will include assessments of 45 health facilities and 135 health providers' interviews. Qualitative data will comprise materials from 30 Key Informant Interviews (KII) and 24 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), which are believed to achieve the needed saturation levels. Data analysis will include thematic and content analysis for the KIIs and FGDs using ATLAS.ti software for the qualitative arm. For the quantitative arm, data analysis will combine frequency and bivariate chi-square analysis, coupled with multi-level regression models, using Stata 15 software. Statistic differences will be established at the significance level of 0.05. We submitted this protocol to the national ethical committee of the ministry of health in September 2019 and it was approved in January 2020. It needs further approval from the Scientific Oversee Committee (SOC) and the Provincial Ministry of Health. Prior to data collection, informed consents will be obtained from all respondents.

The study aimed to provide scientific evidence to base school actions for the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), specifically in the Brazilian context. Brazil presents high GBV indexes, ranking fifth in the world in femicide. Regarding violence in school, girls are the main victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Preventive actions must be taken to avoid such victimization. Searches conducted in Brazilian scientific databases retrieved no review of research on GBV prevention, so we conducted a thorough review of the topic, encountering a small number of articles in Brazilian databases. National and international scientific production on the theme were compared to identify if the low production is characteristic only in Brazil or in the international context as well. Searches were conducted in Brazilian and international databases using GBV and school-related descriptors. National data search retrieved 431 entries, while 222 papers were obtained in the international literature. The inclusion criteria for the analyses was the mention, in the abstract, of any form of action within school addressing GBV prevention. This screening selected eleven studies in the Brazilian databases and 30 articles in the international literature. Transformative or exclusionary elements were identified in the texts, focusing on different school levels and also lawmaking. Because of restrictions imposed by the data set, a descriptive analysis was conducted. In the international literature, it was possible to identify that recent research has been analyzing actions developed in school aiming GBV prevention and some of their impacts. Brazilian literature has been focusing primarily on describing actions rather than evaluating their impacts or describing GBV prevalence. The targeted population includes teachers, sports coaches, male and female students of different educational levels, whole school community, family and surrounding communities. The actions described in the international dataset are most frequently conducted in extracurricular context and are primarily focusing on raising awareness about GBV and providing information. The Brazilian studies indicate few actions conducted within the school. The analysis indicated characteristics in school-actions that contribute to GBV prevention and overcoming, such as working with the whole school-community, empowering women and strengthening egalitarian masculinities, bystander training and implementing laws and policies.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is an internationally widespread human rights and public health issue, known to be exacerbated and underreported in humanitarian settings and among conflict-affected populations. A combination of factors including increased vulnerability, lack of protection and marginalization are believed to increase the risk for GBV in settings such as displacement and refugee camps. An increased understanding of GBV in these populations is needed to inform and improve future policy changes and interventions. This qualitative study sought to explore women's perceptions and experiences of GBV in a refugee camp setting in Uganda to increase the understanding of the dynamics and risk contexts of GBV in the context of displacement and refugee camps. This was a qualitative study based on individual semi-structured interviews and content analysis. The interviews were conducted during October 2023 with women living in a refugee camp setting in Western Uganda. The participants (N = 13) included female refugees, residing in the refugee camp, above eighteen years of age and who were survivors of GBV. Findings showed no easy escape route from gender-based violence, with a high exposure to GBV throughout the refugee experience. The nature of GBV, the perpetrators and risk contexts however seemed to shift throughout the process from conflict to the refugee camp. Increased marginalization and lack of resources compounded by a shift in gender roles in the refugee camp where women seemed to assume the role of the primary provider increased the risk of violence in pursuit of basic needs. Women described extensive intimate partner violence (IPV) in the camp often connected to new gendered power dynamics and the control of resources. Faced with the struggles of migration, marginalization, and GBV, women displayed various coping mechanisms including rebuilding networks and support systems. Our study showed the complexity of GBV in settings such as refugee camps, where various structural and individual changes involved in migration and life in a refugee camp seemed to create new risk contexts for GBV both inside and outside of the household. Interventions across various dimensions including addressing underlying conditions of marginalization and gendered power dynamics are therefore warranted to address GBV in refugee camps. Further research is essential to better understand this complex issue, as well as the perception and effectiveness of services and interventions in place.