08 March 2018•Update: 09 March 2018
By Felix Nkambeh Tih
ANKARA
Women, who are forced to flee their homes, face more hardship as they do not have the means to protect and take care of themselves, a Norwegian Refugee Council’s official said on Thursday.
"When people are forced to flee, the day-to-day survival falls on women," Magnhild Vasset, director of NRC's field operations, said in a statement on the occasion of the International Women's Day celebration.
"Women are the ones that must provide for their children, find shelter and food. They often continue to be responsible for the family, for housekeeping and cooking, and are in many situations forced to go out and earn the money as well," Vasset added.
She said being displaced has negatively affected women’s life and they also face greater risks of sexual violence and other abuses.
"We see it in Uganda where many displaced women are forced to be the sole breadwinners for their children. Some have turned to "survival sex" to feed their families. When you're displaced, you lose your protection network, you lose the freedoms you once had.
"In all the countries in which we work, we continue to see women being marginalized. Rape is used as a weapon of war -- it is happening in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and The Central African Republic. At the same time, response to gender-based violence is one of the most underfunded issue in humanitarian response," she said.
Vasset said there are specific needs of women and girls. "They need to program for that, give women a position in their community to try and bolster how people see them, as people who can contribute to decision making and leadership."
