The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

• Forming alliances with mass media to promote community and women’s
issues. <strong>The</strong> media are key actors in globally transmitting information, news
and values, and they have the power to generate “empathy,” “connection” and
the “objectification” <strong>of</strong> women. Women’s NGOs have challenged mass-media
reporting on armed conflict situations that focus exclusively on the difficulties
<strong>of</strong> everyday life, specifically images <strong>of</strong> children and women’s vulnerability.
<strong>The</strong>se portrayals show women solely as victims and ignore their contributions
during conflicts to family and community survival. For instance, in Croatia,
B.a.B.e. secured space for women’s issues in leading weekly magazines. <strong>The</strong>
radio programme “Buenos Tiempos Mujer” in El Salvador provided a space
for dialogue between opposing groups to overcome violence in the family and
society. In addition, the organization Media Action International used radio to
provide education for Afghani girls and women who were relegated to the
home and denied access to education under Taliban rule; 92
• Organizing round tables and conferences to bring women from different
venues and countries together to discuss community problems and develop
“sister projects” fostering social and economic growth. An example is the
conference “Regional Women’s Economic Networks”, organized by the
Association <strong>of</strong> Business Women in Belgrade, which brought together women
entrepreneurs and networks <strong>of</strong> women’s associations from six Balkan
countries to exchange information and experiences, to examine the
possibilities <strong>of</strong> women’s economic empowerment and opportunities in the
market economy and to enhance international cooperation;
• Researching and strategizing causes and conditions <strong>of</strong> gender specific
violence;
• Promoting initiatives for the protection <strong>of</strong> women’s health, such as health
education, including family planning, birth control, and prevention and
services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV/AIDS. Each
has serious effects on women’s health, productive and reproductive
capacities, safe motherhood and pregnancy care;
• Identifying ways to support communities and protect reproductive health,
which include:
• Identification <strong>of</strong> existing service delivery structures, including national and
private-sector health services, and women’s and community-based groups;
• Identification <strong>of</strong> the needs <strong>of</strong> women concerning their reproductive health;
and
• Identification <strong>of</strong> health workers and training <strong>of</strong> community staff in services
management.
92 International Peace Update, June-August 2000.
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