In times of armed conflict, after being forcibly removed from their original homes, women are at risk of additional abuse once displaced
Displacement of persons around the world is caused by, inter alia, civil conflicts, ethnic and xenophobic strife, wars, natural disasters, and socalled ‘development’ policies Displaced persons often flee with few or none of their belongings, leaving behind their homes, lands and communities
Women and Housing Rights THE HOUSING RIGHTS of DISPLACED WOMEN: Restitution, Relocation and Assistance chaos which ensues during conflict or disaster, it is most often women who carry the heaviest burdens as they seek to care for their families while at the same time seeking to ensure their safety and security.
Today, over 80 per cent of the world’s refugees and displaced persons are women and children. Women who have been displaced from their homes are particularly vulnerable to abuse, whether at the hands of governments, armed groups, or even at the hands of others suffering the same plight of displacement. In the midst of the
Being deprived of housing, land and/or property, and lacking the ability to go back to their previous homes and land, constitute grave dilemmas for displaced women, regardless of whether they have fled across an international border or have stayed displaced within their home country. Very often, displaced women and girls desire to return to the homes they occupied prior to displacement and to be safely reintegrated back within their original communities, yet are prevented from doing so due to gender-based violence and discrimination.
In fact, displaced women and girls face unique problems at all stages of displacement, largely due to the prevalence of gender-based violence and gender-based discrimination. The United Nations Special Representative on internally displaced persons has noted that “displaced women are particularly vulnerable to genderspecific violence as the protection afforded to them by their homes and communities disappears and the stress of displacement becomes manifest in the family unit.” The Special Representative also noted “such abuses include physical and sexual attacks, rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment, increased spousal battering and marital rape.” Additionally, displaced women are often forced to exchange sex for basic necessities (i.e. food and housing) as well as for protection, additional aid and access to records. So-called ‘gender neutral’ policies during land redistribution to returnees