Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Crises

In my last post, I talked about one of the themes the Executive Director of UNFPA discussed in his statement to the UNFPA Executive Board. I’m going to discuss another one here that is incredibly relevant around the world: humanitarian crises. Whether because of natural disasters, pandemics, or conflict, women and girls are disproportionately vulnerable. More than 75% of the people affected by these crises are women and children, and the risks that women already face in their daily lives become heightened when resources are scarce and security breaks down.

Abuse, sexual exploitation, violence, and forced marriage all increase during crises, as well as illnesses and deaths related to reproductive health and pregnancy. Sexual and reproductive health services are difficult to access, if they exist at all, leaving women with few resources if they are victims of violence or are giving birth.

The experiences of women in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan demonstrate how all these risks intersect. The camp is populated with Syrian refugees, who are already dealing with the psychological trauma of displacement. In such an insecure atmosphere, many families arrange marriages for their adolescent daughters, hoping it will keep them safe. However, child marriage exposes girls to many other dangers, especially pregnancy. In Za’atari, many of the pregnant women that health care workers attend are under 15. Many girls fear violence from their husband if they try to prevent or delay pregnancy. Once girls get married, it becomes difficult to continue their education and achieve their full potential.

UNFPA’s State of the World Population report from 2015 does a great job going into detail about the dynamics that threaten women and girls in humanitarian crises, and the steps that can be taken to address it.

• Include family planning in basic emergency supplies delivered to those affected by the crisis, rather than treating it as an additional, optional service.
• Couple family planning supplies with education targeted at women and men about how delaying first pregnancy and increasing the spacing between pregnancies is good for the health of the mother and the whole family.
• Connect women, who may be dispersed in rural, hard-to-reach areas, to maternal and newborn health services.
• Target assistance to HIV treatment and prevention.
• Give adolescents access to education and vocational training. This will mitigate the vulnerability they face due to poverty and separation from their families, and give them the tools to be active advocates for positive change.
• In all areas, work with local women to understand their unique challenges, as well as their input on solutions that make sense given their needs and context.

But most importantly, before a crisis hits, governments and civil society must work to address the underlying socioeconomic and structural issues that affect its severity and the possibility of full recovery. That includes investment in reproductive health infrastructure, education, and gender equality. The issue of reproductive health in humanitarian crises shows how gender, health, and economic development are intertwined. When women have the agency to contribute fully to their societies, then their societies will be that much more resilient and able to bounce back in the face of disasters.


By Morgan, MPP '17
WAPPP Summer Intern Blog
Originally posted on Wanted, Safe, Fulfilled: UNFPA Summer 2016

Trying to Explain Rape in Civil Wars

Gang rape has been a vicious element of war since time immemorial. It is slowly starting to receive the attention it deserves by the international community, with campaigns to Stop Rape Now and Stop Rape in Conflict, particularly as its use in the killing fields of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has continued to shock the world.

But when and where has gang rape happened during civil wars? And why, even in the same war, do some factions commit rape while others don’t?

Those are the questions that Professor Dara Kay Cohen of the Harvard Kennedy School has sought to answer in her last years of research. She presented some of those findings at her WAPPP Seminar last week.

As rape has become a weapon of war in places as diverse as Rwanda, Bosnia, the DRC, most people have tried to explain it in three ways. First, that it is due to opportunism and greed: a collapse of norms and access to resources attracts violent people that will commit violent deeds with impunity. Second, that it is due to ethnic hatred: rape is part of humiliating or erasing the next generation of a people based on their race. And third, that it's a symptom of extreme gender inequality: that even in times of peace, women lack rights and opportunities, so rape is a byproduct when other norms break down.

However, Professor Kay Cohen argues that, in fact, gang rape may be a tool of combatant socialization during wartime. Using the cases of Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and East Timor---even analyzing situations where rape did not occur---she suggests that when armed groups recruit foot-soldiers by force, through random abduction or impressment, gang rape is used by the members of the combatant group to create unit cohesion. Because there is no basis for unity amongst the diverse, abducted soldiers, gang rape of the victim population creates a shared experience that builds a twisted form of solidarity. In fact, gang rape during civil conflicts is rarely ordered by commanders. But a “desire to fit in” compels even female abductees to participate in gang rape of their victims.

Though many have referred to rape as a “costless weapon” that evidently also increases unit cohesiveness, it often has multiple costs to the perpetrators---including the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases and reduced battlefield effectiveness.

The difficulty for outside policy-makers trying to respond to or intervene in these horrendous situations is that wars with widespread rape tend to be more difficult to end, and have less durable episodes of peace. However, understanding that it is the composition of a warring faction that drives gang rape in war, can serve as a warning signal to outside observers that rape as a tool of war is imminent---hopefully prompting earlier intervention.

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Older Women’s Rights are Human Rights

The Women: Judy Lear, Gray Panthers; Ferdous Ara Begum, Gender Issues Specialist

The Talk: Older Women Gain a Foothold: Reaching for Full Human Rights on Paper and Beyond

The Question: Where is the inclusion of older women in CEDAW? 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
-- Margaret Mead.

Ms. Judy Lear opened her speech with this Margaret Mead quote to preface discussions around the inclusion of the protection of older women in the international Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW. Ms. Lear provided the opening remarks for Ms. Ferdous Ara Begum, a CEDAW Committee Expert from Bangladesh who was intimately involved in the process. 

What is CEDAW?

CEDAW is the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, and it is referred to colloquially as the “International Bill of Rights for Women.” Out of 193 UN member states, 186 have ratified all or part or all of it. Unfortunately, the United States, largely for economic and political reasons, is one of seven countries to have not yet ratified CEDAW. 

What does CEDAW do? 

CEDAW is an international declaration holding governments responsible, and partially accountable, for the equality of women and girls. In countries that have ratified CEDAW, groups have often been able to partner with the government to change laws and policies targeting women and girls. These include: creating economic safety nets, increasing access to healthcare and education, encouraging laws around violence and domestic violence, ensuring rights around voting and inheritance, and many, many more. 

However, CEDAW is not without its faults. Because the United States has not ratified CEDAW, its legitimacy on the international stage is mitigated. Additionally, countries can partially ratify the Convention, which often removes some of its strongest articles. 

Why target older women specifically? 

Older women are often invisible in societies. Former CEDAW Committee member, Ferdous Ara Begum, discussed the negative stereotypes towards women as they age. Deeply rooted cultural and social biases marginalize this group; older women are often viewed as a burden to their families as they are no longer economically or reproductively useful. Furthermore, as a group, older women are more likely to be homeless, have unattended chronic health issues, or limited access to property and land. 

How does CEDAW protect older women? 

In October of 2010, CEDAW adopted Recommendation No. 27 to protect older women and their human rights on issues related to access to social pensions, education, adequate housing, inheritance laws, violence, and social biases (among other).  It compels, “State parties [to] recognize that older women are an important resource to society, and have the obligation to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to eliminate discrimination against older women.”

Going forward. 

Including older women in CEDAW is an important step in protecting marginalized rights. However, and perhaps more importantly, this inclusions encourages governments -- and societies -- to recognize and appreciate the contributions of older women.

Click here to read the full recommendation on the protection of the human rights for older women, available in six languages. 

Melissa Sandgren is a MPP1 at the Harvard Kennedy School and a participant in WAPPP's From Harvard Square to the Oval Office program.