Written by Kiki Schaafsma
Ever since Putin’s troops marched over the Ukrainian border, the world has been holding its breath. When you google ‘the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022’, more than 400 million results pop up within a second. The latest news: “At least 30 killed in railway station missile strike as civilians try to flee Russian onslaught”. As of 8 April an estimated amount of 10 million refugees have left their homes. With so many fleeing the conflict, women and girls are put at a heightened risk. We are faced with the grim fact that war always comes with the infringement of women’s rights. As women and girls try to escape conflict, they are threatened by different forms of violence and assault. Therefore, they require specific protection in conflicted regions.
Worldwide, one in five women displaced by a humanitarian crisis have experienced sexual violence. Many tell horrifying accounts of abuse by criminal gangs, smugglers, traffickers, border guards, police and fellow refugees. Because of their gender, women and girls are often subjected to different violations than their counterparts. As stated in the Report “Conflict‐related sexual violence” of the United Nations Secretary-General: “sexual violence, and the long shadow of terror and trauma it casts, disproportionately affects women and girls.”
This different female experience stems from a greater problem. Sexual violence in war “largely affects women and girls because it is closely linked to broader issues of gender inequality and discrimination”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council, during a meeting on women and peace and security, with a focus on sexual violence in conflict. This layer of bigotry typifies women’s status in many societies and has an additional and devastating effect on female experiences followed from war in conflicted societies. The presence of an armed conflict tends to exacerbate the types and levels of violence women already face, caused by the breakdown of law and order, an increased availability of weaponry, and loss of family and community protection. For example, in the ongoing civil war in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, women and girls have been doubly victimized, subjected to widespread, horrific acts of sexual violence and deliberate obstructions to their access to care.
In times of conflict, women and girls experience a wide range of gender-based violence. They may also be subjected to violence based on the socially-constructed “traditional” norms of masculinity and femininity. Women are often viewed by societies as responsible for the home. During war, this means that women and girls may be enslaved to carry out domestic forced labor or to porter for opposing or friendly forces. For example, during the conflict in Sierra Leone, rebel soldiers and commanders were ‘given’ a ‘bush wife’. These women and girls were abducted or captured and expected to provide sex and domestic services, such as cooking, cleaning and laundering.
Lastly, it is important to emphasize that women are not always passive by-standers or victims. Historically, women have expressed their agency as combatants, as part of organized civil society as human rights defenders, as members of resistance movements and as active agents in formal and informal peacebuilding processes. And many will continue to do so. No wonder that after the World Wars of the 20th century women’s rights movements bolstered immensely.
In conclusion, women and girls, in times of conflict, are subjected to gender-based violence and oppression. This issue does not know borders nor age. It is a result of hundreds of years of worldwide gender inequality. In wartime, women are often not only victims of sexual assault and rape, they may also be faced with other forms of oppression, such as forced labor and marriages. This does not mean that women play the mere role of passive witnesses in times of conflict. Through time, they have shown action and courage. As the Russian-Ukrainian war keeps shaking the world, measures must be taken to provide the women and girls in regions of conflict, and those leaving, with the required protection. Unfortunately, this is merely a bandage on a bleeding wound, as the true cause of these atrocities is deeply rooted in our societies.