Why in the news?

  • UN Women published a report citing a two fold increase in the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts in 2023, compared to the previous year.

Impact of War on Women and Children

  • Fact: According to UN data, over 80% of refugees and internally displaced persons are women and children.
  • Impact on Women:
    • Gender Based Violence: Women are frequently subjected to rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and trafficking.
    • Health and Reproductive Challenges: Armed conflict disrupts access to essential healthcare services, including reproductive health and maternal care, leading to increased maternal mortality and higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS.
    • Displacements and Exploitation: Displacement often exposes women to further abuse in refugee camps, including trafficking and exploitation in exchange for survival needs such as food or shelter.
    • Socio-economic Consequences: The destruction of infrastructure leads to economic hardships that push women into precarious labor or force them into dependency, reversing gains in gender equality and education.
    • Mental Trauma: Exposure to violence, loss of family members, and prolonged displacement cause widespread depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women.
  • Impact on Children:
    • Physical Harm and Mortality: Millions of children die in conflicts each year due to direct violence, bombing, malnutrition, and loss of healthcare. Landmines and explosives leave many disabled.
    • Child Soldiers and Exploitation: Forcible recruitment of children as combatants, spies, and messengers, violating international law. They are also trafficked or subjected to sexual violence.
    • Disruption of Education: Destruction of schools, loss of teachers, and displacement interrupt children’s education, creating a lost generation deprived of skills and future opportunities.
    • Psychological stress and trauma: Children experience PTSD, anxiety, and depression due to exposure to violence and the death of loved ones.
    • Loss of Parental support and Family structure: Wars often orphan children or separate families during displacement.
  • International Efforts:
    • UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000): Recognizes the disproportionate impact of war on women and calls for their inclusion in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.​
    • Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): Ensures the protection of children from conflict-related exploitation and violence.​
    • Beijing Platform for Action (1995): Identified women and armed conflict as one of the 12 critical areas of concern needing global action.​
    • UNICEF and UNFPA Initiatives: Provide humanitarian assistance focusing on mental health, education, and gender protection in conflict zones.
  • Way Forward:
    • Implementation of gender-sensitive peace processes and women’s representation in negotiations.
    • Provision of trauma-informed healthcare, including mental health services for women and children.
    • Strengthening international humanitarian law enforcement to prevent sexual and child rights violations.
    • Ensuring education continuity and social reintegration programs for displaced and war-affected children.
    • Promoting economic rehabilitation for widows, female-headed households, and orphans in post-conflict recovery.

 

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