World Refugee Day, 20th of June 2005
Jun 20, 2005
Migrating women and children are most vulnerable to sexual violence
Geneva, 16th of June 2005; Geneva, 16th of June 2005; 80 percent of the refugees worldwide are women and children. They are particularly vulnerable to violence and sexual violence. Today, access to adequate medical treatment and psychological care is rare. It is essential that victims of violence and particularly sexual violence have systematic access to adequate medical and psychological treatment. Also, protection measures for women and children in these situation remains largely insufficient. It is most urgent that NGOs directly concerned with the issue, but even more so political authorities, take their responsibilities in order to improve the situation of these women and children.
About 17 Million people in the world are forced to seek refuge in another country. About 25 million people are displaced in their own country. 80 percent of these refugees and displaced people are women and children. They are particularly vulnerable to violence and sexual violence and become targets of sexual assaults before, throughout and after their flight. They are raped, mutilated, harassed and have to negotiate their and their families survival in exchange for sexual acts.
The consequences of the attacks on body and mind of these women and children are horrific: Survivors are infected with sexually transmittable diseases, with HIV and suffer from a long lasting psychological trauma. As a further consequence they see themselves confronted with rejection by society or sometimes even by their own husbands. In societies where families constitute the core of the community, being excluded often means a life in poverty.
MSF is implementing programs to treat women and children who survived sexual violence in different countries, for example in Liberia and in Guinea. In Liberia MSF has a program to treat survivors of sexual violence in Monrovia. During the first seven months of the MSF program, many women who had been raped in the war, which ended in 2003, came to the MSF program. These days about 100 women a month seek help. In Guinea where MSF has started a program for sexual violence in 2002, every month 40 women who have survived rape report to the medical team.
However the lack of specific treatment remains a fundamental problem. Often women in exile don't have access to proper medical treatment or can't reach a medical structure because of an ongoing conflict. And even if they do reach a functioning medical structure the lack of specific treatment is more often the case than not. Furthermore is essential that victims of violence and particularly sexual violence have systematically access to adequate medical and psychological treatment. This means access to post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as well as to antiretroviral medicines against HIV/AIDS.
For more information please call Eva van Beek, +41 (0)79 793 44 42 Interviews with MSF-staff in Guinea (German, English and French) and Liberia (English, French and Spanish) can be arranged.
Geneva, 16th of June 2005; Geneva, 16th of June 2005; 80 percent of the refugees worldwide are women and children. They are particularly vulnerable to violence and sexual violence. Today, access to adequate medical treatment and psychological care is rare. It is essential that victims of violence and particularly sexual violence have systematic access to adequate medical and psychological treatment. Also, protection measures for women and children in these situation remains largely insufficient. It is most urgent that NGOs directly concerned with the issue, but even more so political authorities, take their responsibilities in order to improve the situation of these women and children.
About 17 Million people in the world are forced to seek refuge in another country. About 25 million people are displaced in their own country. 80 percent of these refugees and displaced people are women and children. They are particularly vulnerable to violence and sexual violence and become targets of sexual assaults before, throughout and after their flight. They are raped, mutilated, harassed and have to negotiate their and their families survival in exchange for sexual acts.
The consequences of the attacks on body and mind of these women and children are horrific: Survivors are infected with sexually transmittable diseases, with HIV and suffer from a long lasting psychological trauma. As a further consequence they see themselves confronted with rejection by society or sometimes even by their own husbands. In societies where families constitute the core of the community, being excluded often means a life in poverty.
MSF is implementing programs to treat women and children who survived sexual violence in different countries, for example in Liberia and in Guinea. In Liberia MSF has a program to treat survivors of sexual violence in Monrovia. During the first seven months of the MSF program, many women who had been raped in the war, which ended in 2003, came to the MSF program. These days about 100 women a month seek help. In Guinea where MSF has started a program for sexual violence in 2002, every month 40 women who have survived rape report to the medical team.
However the lack of specific treatment remains a fundamental problem. Often women in exile don't have access to proper medical treatment or can't reach a medical structure because of an ongoing conflict. And even if they do reach a functioning medical structure the lack of specific treatment is more often the case than not. Furthermore is essential that victims of violence and particularly sexual violence have systematically access to adequate medical and psychological treatment. This means access to post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as well as to antiretroviral medicines against HIV/AIDS.
For more information please call Eva van Beek, +41 (0)79 793 44 42 Interviews with MSF-staff in Guinea (German, English and French) and Liberia (English, French and Spanish) can be arranged.
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