The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

Reproductive health entails much more than the skeleton maternal and
child health services provided in many refugee settings. An effective programme
<strong>of</strong> reproductive health care is sensitive to the different needs <strong>of</strong> men and women,
<strong>of</strong> various ethnic and cultural groups, and <strong>of</strong> various age groups. It must be
accessible and available to single women, widows, older women, adolescents
and men.
Civilians rather than the military are increasingly singled out for attack in
the growing number <strong>of</strong> wars within and between nations. Women and children
are particularly vulnerable. Although refugee figures are unreliable, there are at
least 35 million displaced people in the world today. 1 One in four is a woman <strong>of</strong>
reproductive age. Most <strong>of</strong> these women lack access to the most basic
reproductive health care.
<strong>The</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> quality reproductive health services can lead to high mortality
rates among women and children, an increase in the spread <strong>of</strong> sexually
transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, an increase in unsafe
abortions, and increased morbidity related to high fertility rates and poor birthspacing.
<strong>The</strong> Programme <strong>of</strong> Action <strong>of</strong> the 1994 ICPD provides a detailed definition
<strong>of</strong> reproductive health. <strong>The</strong> Inter-agency Working Group on Reproductive Health
in Refugee Situations (IAWG) describes reproductive health in refugee settings
as comprising: family planning, safe motherhood and emergency obstetrics, the
prevention <strong>of</strong> and response to sexual and gender-based violence, and the
prevention and treatment <strong>of</strong> STIs, including HIV/AIDS.
Cross-cutting <strong>The</strong>mes
Gender, human rights and poverty are universal themes. <strong>Conflict</strong> and
displacement impact on these areas, creating a number <strong>of</strong> new factors which
need to be considered, particularly when providing reproductive health services.
Just as women, men and adolescents need targeted reproductive health
interventions during peacetime, so do they during conflict. In addition,
consideration should be given to the particular impact that conflict and
displacement have on the differing requirements <strong>of</strong> these target groups.
Gender
<strong>The</strong> word "gender" is used to describe those characteristics <strong>of</strong> men and
women that are socially constructed, in contrast to those that are biologically
determined. In applying a gender approach to health, the World Health
Organization (WHO) goes beyond describing women and women’s health in
1 UNFPA, State <strong>of</strong> World Population 2000 (New York, UNFPA, 2000).
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