UNIFEM WOMEN,WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: HEALTH

UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statements


Enhancing the EU Response to Women and Armed Conflict with Particular Reference to Development Policy
European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), April 2008
Women’s multiple and diverse roles in conflict are hidden, poorly understood and, at times, consciously or unconsciously dismissed. Usually it is women’s role as victims that is given most prominence. Though, in recent years the international community has become more responsive to women’s diverse roles as actors on conflict prevention, resolution and peace-building, there is recognition that the EU’s response to this reality must be scaled up, widened and deepened. Local, national or international action that does not involve and empower women is less likely to be successful and sustainable in any field, including that which is intended to bring development or peace. This study is based on the premise that a more effective international/EU response to women and armed conflict must incorporate the three inter-related and mutually reinforcing concepts of gender equality, women’s empowerment and upholding women’s rights.

To read the full report, including issues of women's health, please click HERE

Women and War
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), May 2008
War and violence today spare no one, but they affect men, women, boys and girls in different ways. Women and girls in war-torn countries are faced with unimaginable risks, threats and challenges. War can mean violence, fear, loss of loved ones, deprivation of livelihood, sexual violence, abandonment, increased responsibility for family members, detention, displacement, physical injury, and sometimes death. It forces women and girls into unfamiliar roles and requires them to strengthen existing coping skills and develop new ones.

Despite all the hardship women endure in armed conflicts, the image of women as helpless victims of war is flawed. Women are playing an increasingly active role in hostilities – whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Many also play a proactive role post-conflict in peacebuilding and social reconstruction.

To read the full report on the major risks and challenges that women and girls face during war, and some of the ICRC's responses, please click HERE

Sudan: Inform rape survivors of right to seek life-saving treatment
Refugees International, January 2006
The conflict in Darfur has been characterized by sexual assaults and rapes. Until recently, women who were raped suffered the double injustice of being denied, by law, post-trauma medical assistance unless they agreed to fill out a police report, or Form 8. As documented by Refugees International in November 2004, this requirement has meant that many women have decided not to seek life-saving treatment because of fear of reprisal; not only are the rapists often the Sudanese police themselves, but the Sudanese government has been quick to equate rape with adultery, which is punishable under shari’a law.

Still in Need: Reproductive Health Care for Afghan Refugees in Pakistan
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, October 2003
The Women's Commission conducted a reproductive health (RH) assessment focused on the implementation of priority RH activities among Afghan refugees in the Northwest Frontier, Baluchistan and Punjab provinces of Pakistan from August 2002 through June 2003. The assessment of these priority RH activities, also known as Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP), revealed that while isolated efforts have been made to improve the quantity and quality of reproductive health care for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, many programs are limited to traditional maternal and child health care services, and the quality of RH care is a significant concern.

Women and War : Special Report
International Committee of the Red Cross, March 2003
The purpose of this report is to provide an update of the ICRC's actions since the publication of the Women facing War study and the subsequent commitment to the identification of and response to both the general and specific needs of women affected by conflict. AVAILABLE IN 5 LANGUAGES

Displaced and Desperate: Assessment of Reproductive Health for Colombia’s Internally Displaced Persons
Marie Stopes International and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children on behalf of the Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium, February 2003
The assessment team found that internally displaced persons (IDPs) suffer a critical lack of access to reproductive health care owing to a number of factors. Colombians’ access to health care overall is faltering between national policy at the central level and services to the population at decentralized levels, leaving many Colombians, particularly IDPs, to fall through the cracks without health care. While the main role of United Nations (UN) agencies is to support local and national capacity to respond to the humanitarian crisis, the Colombian government has abdicated its responsibility to provide reproductive health services and the result is a tragic dearth of services for IDPs.

War-Related Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone: A Population-Based Assessment
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), with the support of UNAMSIL, 2002
This report informs that internally displaced women and girls in Sierra Leone have suffered an extraordinary level of rape, sexual violence and other gross human rights violations during their country's civil war, with half of those who said they came into contact with RUF (Revolutionary United Front) forces reporting sexual violence. PHR calls on the newly announced Special Court to prioritize crimes of sexual violence and ensure the protection of witnesses.

Women's Health and Human Rights in Afghanistan A Population-Based Assessment
Physicians for Human Rights, 2001
This reports highlights the results of a survey of more than 1,000 Afghan men and women living in Afghanistan and nearby refugee camps. Over 90% of respondents indicated strong support for the rights of Afghan women. The participants overwhelmingly endorsed equal access for women to education and work opportunities; freedom of expression, legal protections for the rights of women and participation of women in government.

Women's Reproductive Health & Armed Conflict
Family Care International and the Communications Consortium Media Center
More than 26 million refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons are registered worldwide and millions more are unregistered. 50% are girls and women. Gender-based violence tends to increase in refugee situations, where reproductive health services are often lacking. For example, a 1994 study of Rwandan refugees in Tanzanian camps found that 60% of the women had a reproductive tract infection and more than 20% of births at a Burundi refugee camp in Tanzania in 1998 were below average weight, and infant deaths rose sharply from prewar levels. Of Rwandan women who reported being raped, 17% were HIV-positive.

The Taliban's War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan
Physicians for Human Rights
This report describes the numerous women's rights abuses enacted by the Taliban government in Afghanistan, as well as the effect the Taliban's laws have had on women's health conditions and medical services. Recommendations for remedying the situation are included at the end of the report.

UN Documents

Progress of the world’s women 2008/2009
Who answers to women? Gender and accountability
UNIFEM, September 2008
Progress of the world’s women 2008/2009 focuses on five key areas where the need to strengthen accountability to women is urgent: politics and governance, access to public services, economic opportunities, justice, and finally the distribution of international assistance for development and security.

For the full report, please click HERE
For chapter 3: Services, please click HERE
For other chapters, please click HERE

Women, War, Health: Enlisting the Armed Forces to Protect Reproductive Health and Rights: Lessons from Nine Countries United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
UN Population Fund (UNFPA), December 2003
Taking advantage of the considerable organizational and human resources of military institutions to protect reproductive health and rights is emerging as a powerful strategy in both peacetime and conflict situations. For decades, UNFPA has worked with the military sector to reach out to men with information, education and services on family life and family planning. This experience is now being applied to a wider spectrum of reproductive and sexual health concerns, including maternal health, HIV/AIDS prevention and reduction of gender-based violence. This digital document offers lessons learned from reproductive health projects in nine different military organizations. Request CD ROMs to: conte@unfpa.org

Guidelines for Prevention and Response Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), May 2003

Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict: United Nations Response
United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
This article covering the cases of many countries was published to promote the goals of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action in April 1998. Sexual violence during armed conflict is not a new phenomenon. It has existed for as long as there has been conflict. While historically very few measures have been taken to address sexual violence against women committed during armed conflict, it is not true to say that there has always been complete silence about the issue. Belligerents have often capitalized upon the abuse of their women to garner sympathy and support for their side, and to strengthen their resolve against the enemy. It is true to say that the international community has, for a long time, failed to demonstrate a clear desire to do something about the problem of sexual violence during armed conflict.

The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls: A UNFPA Strategy for Gender Mainstreaming in Areas of Conflict and Reconstruction
UN Population Fund, Bratislava, Slovakia, 13–15 November 2002
The nature of armed conflicts changed dramatically during the latter half of the twentieth century, with casualties among civilians increasingly outnumbering those of military personnel. Women and girls became especially vulnerable in such conflicts. Because of this, significant ethical, analytical and operational challenges have emerged for the United Nations system, not least for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). One of the most critical challenges is the need to develop integrated, gender-sensitive strategies and programme interventions for addressing conflict situations. This report of a consultative meeting is intended to contribute to the United Nations study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls, requested by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1325, and adopted on 31 October 2000. The Gender Issues Branch of the Technical Support Division, UNFPA, organized the meeting with overall coordination by Ms. Sahir Abdul-Hadi. The Country Technical Services Team (CST) based in Bratislava, Slovakia, assisted in organizing the consultative meeting.

Application of Human Rights to Reproductive and Sexual Health: Recommendations
United Nations Population Fund and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Experts Group Meeting, June 2001

Fourth World Conference on Women Platform for Action: Women and Health
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, September 1995

Government Statements and Reports

Final Declaration of the African Parliamentary Conference on Violence against Women, Abandoning Female Genital Mutilation: The Role of parliaments
The National Assembly of Senegal and the African Parliamentary Union, in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Dakar, Senegal, 4 - 5 December 2005
Every year, 3 million girls and women are subjected to female genital mutilation and cutting (FGMC). FGMC is an act of violence against women that must be combated by a number of actors, including parliaments. This regional Conference made it possible for parliamentarians from African countries to exchange views, and helped build a better understanding of parliaments should play in fighting FGMC. Specifically, the conference emphasized the means available to eradicate this practice not only through laws, but also through societal changes and action at the local level.

Books, Journals and Articles

Conflict, State Fragility and Women’s Reproductive Health
The Case of Basilan, Philippines
Ederlinda Magcalen-Fernandez, College of Public Administration and Development Studies Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City, Philippines, November 2006
This research documents women's experiences during and since the armed conflict in the Basilan region of the Southern Philippines that took place between 2000 and 2003, and focuses particularly on the availability and adequacy of women's reproductive health services.

Ten Reasons Why Militarism is Bad for Women's Health
H. Patricia Hynes, Professor of Environmental Health, Boston University, USA, 10 April 2003

Healing the Psychological Wounds of Gender-Related Violence in Latin America: A Model for Gender-Sensitive Work in Post-Conflict Contexts
Helen Leslie. Gender and Development, Vol 9, Issue 3,pp 50-60. November 2001
This article presents a model of healing which conceptualizes and addresses the psychological effects on women of gender-related violence in the post-conflict context. The model is drawn from the experience of Las Dignas, an El Salvadoran NGO, and from key insights from gender and development literature.

Reproductive Health of War-Affected Populations: What Do We Know?
Therese McGinn. International Family Planning Perspectives. Volume 26, Number 4. December 2000

The Impact of War on Women
Mary-Wynne Ashford and Yolanda Huet-Vaughn. Barry S. Levy and Victor W. Sidel (Eds.). War and Public Health. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997