The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

Violence against Women
Violence against women is a universal problem. In conflict-ridden regions
and in post-conflict communities, however, it has much wider social
ramifications. Many international agencies and national NGOs have
documented that, during wars, violence against women is <strong>of</strong>ten applied on a
massive scale. Women are systematically raped, intimidated, sexually abused,
forced into unwanted pregnancies and killed. <strong>The</strong> intention behind these brutal
actions is: to degrade, humiliate, terrorize and shame the other national group as
a whole; to impinge on women’s health and well-being; to undermine women’s
abilities to sustain their families and communities; and to destroy the familybased
organization <strong>of</strong> the enemy group.
Most sexually abused women suffer emotional breakdowns, especially
women from rural communities or settings where moral codes are strict. <strong>The</strong>ir
husbands, their families and their communities <strong>of</strong>ten reject them. Many
impregnated women, after rape, have “back-street” abortions that put their lives
at risk. Some cannot look at their babies. Still others give them away.
Violence against women in post-conflict communities is reported to extend
from the public to private spaces, as ex-combatants tend to bring back their
“soldiering” by projecting their traumas and frustrations onto their wives and
families.
Socio-economic crises exists in the aftermath <strong>of</strong> conflict, resulting in the
flourishing <strong>of</strong> the sex industry and especially in the trafficking <strong>of</strong> women and
children. Women who seek employment opportunities outside their own
countries are seldom aware <strong>of</strong> the potential dangers they face. <strong>The</strong>ir lack <strong>of</strong>
information on the nature and conditions <strong>of</strong> work might make them susceptible to
international organized networks that traffic in human beings. <strong>The</strong> abduction <strong>of</strong>
women and children is also reported from many countries for the purpose <strong>of</strong>
sexual exploitation.
Social and public institutions <strong>of</strong>ten do not respond to violence with
appropriate attention, immediacy and care. Inadequate legislation and traditional
patriarchal cultures still tolerate violence against women in much <strong>of</strong> the world.
Economic Factors
Long periods <strong>of</strong> conflict, coupled with subsequent structural reforms that
Governments are forced to apply, have devastating effects on the economy.
Some <strong>of</strong> these include the destruction <strong>of</strong> economic and physical infrastructure,
the rapid decline <strong>of</strong> industrial production, sharp rise in unemployment, the
drainage <strong>of</strong> human resources, a flourishing black market, loss <strong>of</strong> savings and
<strong>of</strong>ten total impoverishment.
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