MESSAGE LIBRARY:

Gender

Women and girls are disproportionately affected

Crises impact women, girls, men, boys and non-binary genders differently. Armed conflict, natural disasters and climate change often disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including women, girls and non-binary.

 In humanitarian emergencies, women and girls face:

  • An increase in gender-based violence, where at least 1 in 5 women report experiencing sexual violence and the number of women and girls forced into early marriages, human trafficking and survival sex rises;

  • A heightened risk of maternal mortality, where nearly 3/5 of maternal deaths worldwide occur in countries affected by crises and women and girls overall suffer from poor access to lifesaving health services;

  • Poor access to education and livelihoods, with girls disproportionately pulled from school and women often unable to access economic opportunities because they have been denied national identification cards; and

  • An increase in food shortage and malnutrition amongst females when men and boys receive priority for food and nutrition and women and girls often eat last and eat the least.

Women are part of the solution

Although women and girls in emergency settings face an increased risk of violence and discrimination, they also hold the potential for creating meaningful change in their own lives, as well as those of their children, families and communities. The involvement of women and girls can lead to results such as more equitable food distribution, safer latrines and sanitation facilities, innovative solutions for increased reporting of violence and resumption of education and livelihoods activities. We encourage you to support women and girls being active in responding to the emergencies so that their understanding of needs and capabilities can bring practical and effective solutions to light.

Championing gender equality

Humanitarian assistance champions gender equality. This does not mean “women only” but requires their inclusion for the development of more equitable relationships and equal participation of women, girls, men and boys. Gender equality requires non-binary inclusion.

Right to humanitarian assistance

No-one should be denied assistance according to their sex/gender, status, age, religion, ethnic group, or any such distinction.  To find out about assistance available to you or if you are unfairly being denied assistance contact [insert contact info here].

REFERENCES

For more information on this topic, we recommend you read the following references.

CARE International (2019). Gender in Emergencies: Issue Brief
https://www.care.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Gender-in-Emergencies-Issue-Brief-2019-SCREEN.pdf

 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (2018). Gender handbook for humanitarian action.
https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/2018-iasc_gender_handbook_for_humanitarian_action_eng_0.pdf

Sphere (2018). Sphere Handbook.
https://spherestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/Sphere-Handbook-2018-EN.pdf

DOWNLOAD: PDF