Protecting Female Refugees

against Sexual and Gender-based

Violence in Camps
Conflict, Migration, Gender

ARTICLE
 2015•11•09

Marija Obradovic

UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Globally today, we are witnessing an “inexorable intensification of violence” in

the world’s armed conflicts. The result is that there are currently 59.5 million
refugees worldwide.
And among that violence, the brutalisation of women is a deplorable and
persistent trend. Spotlighting the issue, senior UN relief official Kyung-Wha Kang
earlier this year pointed to the fact that when militants from the Islamic State
in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) have captured territory in Iraq and Syria, they have used
and punished women to demonstrate their power. Women have been repeatedly
raped, forced into marriage and sold into slavery. Nigerian women and girls have
given harrowing accounts of their experiences at the hands of Boko Haram, she
added.
“While entire communities suffer the impact of armed conflict, women and girls
are often the first to lose their rights to education, to political participation and
to livelihoods, among other rights being bluntly violated,” Kang said. “Simply,
crisis exacerbates gender inequalities.”

So it is that female refugees across the world are highly vulnerable to all forms
of sexual and physical violence. In addition to the dangers women face from
contesting armed groups, once on the move from the conflict zone, they are also
at risk of being brutalised by human traffickers or even border security forces.
Even after exiting the conflict zone, safety can be elusive. Staying in a refugee
camp within the country of origin or seeking protection elsewhere brings serious
threats to women’s security, freedom and health.

The international community has long resolved to end this scourge. Yet, despite
declarations and resolutions, current reports show that protecting female
refugees from gender-based violence remains a complex problem. This challenge
is solvable, however, as it is largely a matter of policy not adequately
implemented, and world events prove that implementation should be prioritised.

Brutal borders, camps no shelter

People able to escape the fighting in their homeland can still meet grave danger,
and even death. Already this year, over 2,500 of those people have died or gone
missing trying to cross the Mediterranean. Those who survive can still face the
shock of finding the nightmare has not ended because they are being pushed
back to sea by nations unwilling to let refugee boats land, as Thailand, Malaysia
and Indonesia have done in recent months.
As the number of people fleeing violence continues to mount, deteriorating
practices at borders and in detention camps in countries can mean refugee
women who evade being made captive by armed groups and human traffickers,
nonetheless risk being legally detained such as in one of the twenty-seven
immigration detention centres in Turkey and Greece that can hold irregular
migrants and asylum seekers for more than eighteen months.
Equally frightening threats exist in refugee and internally displaced persons
(IDP) camps, as explained by a UNHCR report: “In many refugee situations,
particularly those involving the confinement of refugees in closed camps,
traditional behavioural norms and restraints break down. In such circumstances
refugee women and girls may be raped by other refugees, acting either
individually or in gangs, and self-appointed leaders may thwart attempts to
punish the offenders. In certain camp situations, unaccompanied women and
girls have been known to enter what are called ‘protection marriages’ in order to
avoid sexual assault. The frustration of camp life can also lead to violence,
including sexual abuse, within the family.”

Alarmingly, this abuse is not only perpetrated by male residents of the camp but
can come at the hands of national migration administration or humanitarian
staff. A 2002 report showed that girls were sexually exploited by humanitarian
agency staff and security forces in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, yet this
problem has still not been stamped out. A French soldier was recently
accused of child abuse in Central African Republic.
Recently, allegations were also made that hundreds of girls have been raped
and sold in a Nigerian IDP camp. In response, the country’s National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) formed a committee, assembling representatives of
different state bodies and the Nigerian Red Cross Society, to investigate the
alleged abuses. In July, NEMA released a statement explaining that “what the
report erroneously termed as child trafficking was movement of some children
IDPs from one camp to another for security reasons and to provide more comfort
for the children”.
Imagine finding yourself in a place that was supposed to give you refuge but
ends up causing you more fear than the violence that forced you to leave your
home? Non-governmental organisation Caritas Lebanon says that half of the
Syrian female refugees who sought aid from their workers reported having been
sexually abused. And shockingly, Caritas says, many of these women reported
wishing that they could return to Syria immediately, despite the ongoing dangers
there that caused them to flee.
Range of existing policies
Sex crimes are a serious problem because they violate personal freedoms,
traumatise the victim, and often lead to undesired pregnancy, unsafe abortions,
complications tied to early childbearing age, or even death.

Astoundingly, the reason for the deplorable situation of violence against

displaced women that is still ongoing in camps is simply inadequate
implementation of a range of existing policies that aim to protect and prevent
women from assaults.

As far back as 1979, UN Member States committed to taking steps to make the
world safe and equitable for women. The Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women stipulates that states should employ
necessary steps toward eradicating the prostitution and trafficking of women.
This norm should be applied to protect women in refugee and IDP camps from
assaults such as those that took place in Nigeria and Libya.

In order to secure women’s integrity, the Convention also envisages that women
have the right to get married “only with their free and full consent”, which again
should be applied in preventing ‘protective’ and forced marriages from happening
in camps.

According to the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against

Women, among other guaranteed rights, women have the right to “the highest
standard attainable” of physical health and the right not to be subjected to
“cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. Moreover, the Declaration notes that
states have an obligation to protect women, including refugees, and enable them
to enjoy the given rights.
Obviously, too many states and the UNHCR itself are failing to live up to these
obligations. The 2011 UNHCR strategy tackling sexual and gender-based
violence (SGBV) focused on improving three areas crucial for providing
protection for potential and actual victims.
The first area that seeks improvement is data collection and analysis, which has
to be supported by research projects conducted in consultation with field offices
and with full participation of stakeholders. This would help to accurately map
the existing risks of SGBV and obstacles that the stakeholders encounter in
accessing the protection services.

The second challenging area was found to be at the management level. Here the
Strategy reaffirms the need for further training and raising awareness of UNHCR
staff regarding SGBV, gender inequality and discrimination. Moreover, this
strategy stressed the need for allocation of sufficient resources for meeting the
long-term needs of survivors of SGBV. Lastly, UNHCR has to increase the
cooperation among the relevant actors. Recognising that the actions against
SGBV require a multi-sectoral approach, UNHCR should aim to strengthen the
existing partnerships with other UN agencies and develop close cooperation
with governments and different organisations to improve prevention and
response to SGBV.

When assaults are made by peacekeeping forces and humanitarian staff, they
represent the abuse of power. International actors have recognised the need to
stop sexual assaults committed by the troops and other personnel and, in 2000,
the United Nations Security Council adopted the Resolution on Women, Peace
and Security. The Resolution states that a gender perspective has to be
introduced (where the implications for women and men of any planned action are
assessed) into peacekeeping operations. Further, the Resolution recommends
that the existing code of conduct has to be amended in a way that prevents sex
crimes by introducing adequate control and accountability mechanisms. Lastly,
it expresses the need for gender diversification of the peacekeeping troops,
military observers and civilian police.

The 2008 UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls restates the
need for the implementation of codes of conduct that eliminate sexual assaults
by humanitarian and authority personnel. It also suggests additional training for
the staff on prevention and response to the assaults, but in practice too few
recommendations are in effect.
Nevertheless, 15 years following the Resolution, the problem still exists in the
camps.

Access to justice
In the case of sexual assault, it is important to react properly and enable access
to justice, legal remedies and reparation. However, women in camps have fewer
chances to access justice than men in cultures where a woman’s status is
subjected or tied to a man’s. Forced migration can increase discrimination
 against women and worsen the opportunities for satisfying their legal claims,
leaving victims with no reparation.

International conventions and agreements, once adopted by the state become

part of its legal system and often have a priority compared to domestic laws.
Thus, formally, there are no legal obstacles for the successful implementation of
this norm.

The UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees has clearly stipulated that
refugees will have free access to the courts of law on the territory of all
Contracting States. One should bear in mind that international conventions and
agreements once adopted by the state become part of its legal system and often
have a priority compared to domestic laws. Thus, formally, there are no legal
obstacles for the successful implementation of this norm.

In addition to domestic laws of the hosting country, displaced persons are also
subjected to rules of the camp, which can be developed by or together with the
camp’s residents. These rules present a mix of customs adapted to the camp
setting, and have a critical role in IDP camps within the countries with failed
legal systems. As a case in point, the camps in Sierra Leone apply a similar set
of rules. In addition, UN principles and guidelines also have an important place in
dispute resolution in camps, as they provide standards that should be followed,
although they are not legally binding.

The use of different legal sources in the camp, however, further complicates the
process of securing efficient legal protection for women. With camps lacking
administrative staff dedicated to providing counseling and legal support, the
victims are disabled in addressing their legal claims. To that end, a
recommendation of the UNHCR Comprehensive Protection Framework on
Accession to Justice for Sexual and Gender-based Violence Victims and
Survivors can be helpful, if implemented adequately, because it calls for the
expanded role of and regular visits by mobile courts.

The realm of human security has reached a point where the main issues are
effectively regulated at large. The aforementioned international rules are clear,
and UNHCR, together with international NGOs, make sure to fill in any gaps and
provide guidelines for tackling the issue of sex crimes. However, it is clear that
having detailed regulation means nothing without effective implementation.
States have to abide by the rules crafted at the UN level, show support to those
who are failing to cope with the surging number of immigrants and find a long-
lasting solution of the core problems driving the immigration crisis.

https://unu.edu/publications/articles/protecting-female-refugees-against-sexual-and-gender-based-
violence-in-camps.html