The Dire Situation for Refugee Women

2018 statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Did you hear about the recent announcement of the refugee ceiling for 2019? If not, it’s understandable as the announcement was quietly released amidst the chaos of Hurricane Florence and the Kavanaugh hearings, and has largely become lost in the fray.

Either way, hopefully you are listening now. The administration just announced that the 2019 refugee ceiling will be capped at 30,000 people, down from 45,000 last year. This is the lowest rate in the history of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. To give some context, in 2017, under Obama, the refugee ceiling was set at 100,000.

(An important note: the ways in which the Trump administration is changing both the rhetoric and policies surrounding the refugee resettlement and immigration are at times blatant, yet more often are nuanced and subtle. For an engaging update on the more hidden and bureaucratic tactics of the government, here is a highly recommended podcast from This American Life. )

The dramatic reduction of refugees in the U.S. from 100,000 to 30,000 in just 2 years is not reflective of a decreased number of displaced individuals worldwide, nor is it signaling a resolution to the refugee crisis. On the contrary, this cut comes during the highest level of human displacement in the history of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Currently, there an unprecedented 68.5 forcibly displaced peopleacross the world, 25.4 million of which are officially classified as refugees.

Women and girls account for 50% of the refugee, stateless, and internally displaced populations. 

Click the link for more photos from a collection of women refugees from the past  100 years.

It is important to highlight the number of women and girls who are  forcibly displaced because of the increased risks they face, on top of the great challenges of being a refugee, because they are women. Refugees are defined as someone with " a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group" (UNHCR). Therefore, all refugees are already in extremely perilous situations as they flee violence and repression, often with very little personal belongings, money, or access to food or water as they flee. Many end up in refugee camps, and while aid organizations try their best, resources are strained and refugees remain very vulnerable. 

For women the dangers are infinitely higher. 

Anne Firth Murray, author of "From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice", writes extensively about women in conflict and refugee situations. Murray writes, "The gender bias that fuels violence against women during periods of peace boils over and intensifies in conflict situations as military officials ignore or sanction gross violations of human rights" (Murray, 2008). The disparate treatment of women is exacerbated during displacement, leaving women vulnerable to abuses such as rape, forced pregnancy, trafficking and prostitution, torture, and death. Currently, for women in Greek refugee camps, even showering and other daily activities can be unsafe.  Women are vulnerable to abuse by authorities and even volunteers from NGOs who are ostensibly there to help them. Over 46% of women refugees told researchers that they felt unsafe living in refugee camps (Aljazeera, 2017).

Women's bodies are weaponized and used as bargaining pieces or to intimidate in conflict. Women are also often the caregivers of children and are responsible for their wellbeing as well during conflict, which may limit their options and make things more difficult 

as they try to protect more than one life. 

Refugee women also face specific health concerns that must be addressed in any conversation about global women’s health. An important example to consider is reproductive health, because one quarter of women refugees are of reproductive age (Murray, 2008). Pregnancy and birth during displacement often means inadequate nutrition and clean water and unattended births. In the best of times, many women in developing countries do not have reliable access to birth control or protections against STIs. During displacement, this limited access is interrupted all while rape and sexual assault become rampant. Abortions stand in for birth control and the WHO estimates unsafe abortions result in 25 to 50% of maternal deaths of refugee women (Murray, 2008). Murray tells the heart wrenching and true story of widowed Rwandan women who was forced to keep the child of her rapist, after all 7 of her children and husband had been killed.

The conflict in Syria shows no signs of decreasing, the persecution of Rohingya minority in Myanmar is ongoing, and violence continues to plague many countries, like Afghanistan and South Sudan. The unprecedented numbers of refugees will likely continue to increase. And yet, the U.S. seemingly unaware of these increases, continues to dramatically cut the resettlement program. Recently, Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced that domestic abuse is not a consideration for granting asylum cases. The message to women? The violence you are fleeing in your countries of origin are not valid enough; you do not deserve our help.

Now, more than ever, the United States needs to welcome refugees. Rather than shrinking the refugee resettlement program. The tens of millions of women and girl refugees facing oppression and terrible violence cannot afford to wait.

Reference:

Murray, Anne Firth. (2008). From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.