WUNRN
SOUTH SUDAN - WOMEN WITHOUT MEN VERY
VULNERABLE IN REFUGEE CAMPS
Many women moved to the camps without their
husbands. Photo: Hannah McNeish/IRIN
MABAN, 16 January 2013
(IRIN) - Mahasa* sits in the dust outside the hut she built herself, holding
her youngest son in her arms.
The 29-year-old mother of four knows how vulnerable she is. "I'm
scared," she said.
Mahasa is one of many women who have fled, unaccompanied by their husbands, to
She now lives in Doro camp, which houses more than 44,000 refugees. There, she
- like other female refugees - faces daily threats of harassment, exploitation
and violence, and the persistent fear that, as a woman, she will be unable to
provide for her family.
Harassment
The fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which started in June
2011, has so far displaced more than 112,000 civilians to
Now, six months later, fighting continues across the border, but the rate of
arrivals has eased and aid agencies are transitioning from emergency response
mode to meeting the longer-term needs of the refugee population.
More than 80 percent of the refugees are women and children, says Myrat
Muradov, a protection officer with UNHCR. The agency has begun to look at the
particular vulnerabilities of this group, many of whom are completely dependent
on food rations.
"Widows and pregnant women need much help," he said.
Because the camps are spread out across large areas, women often have to walk
very long distances to reach food distributions points, and then they must
carry the heavy ration bags back with them.
Mahasa, for example, walks half an hour in each direction to collect the food
she needs to feed her children.
Aid workers say that on these collection journeys, single women and the elderly
are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, sometimes being forced to part
with a portion of their ration in exchange for assistance transporting it.
However, this is not the crime Mahasa fears most. One of the most difficult
things she and other women must do is collect firewood from the bush
surrounding the camp; not only is it hard work, it is also
"dangerous," she says, because members of the host community often
approach and harass female refugees.
"They hit us," Mahasa says. “They also take the axe from us."
Tensions between the refugees and the host community have been
mounting, largely over increasingly limited resources.
Maple*, an older woman in the camp, and Talitha*, her adult daughter, express
similar fears, reporting that both men and women from the host community have
hit them with sticks and chased them away as they tried to collect firewood.
"The only way to get the firewood is to hide yourself in order to protect
yourself from the host community," Maple said.
Sexual violence
The issue is of growing concern for protection officers working in the four
refugees camps of
Women walk long distances for food and water
for their children. Photo: Hannah McNeish/IRIN
A Human Rights Watch report, released on 12 Dec 2012, documented instances of
such sexual violence and pointing out that in Jamam camp - also in Upper Nile
State - women regularly walk for an hour and a half each way to collect
firewood.
The Danish Refugee Council released a sexual and gender-based violence rapid
assessment of Doro in October 2012. "Adult women and adolescent girls
recounted cases of rape, attempted rape, sexual abuse and harassment," the
assessment states. It also found that many instances of sexual and gender-based
violence went unreported due to fears of stigmatization. Indeed, the assessment
noted that healthcare providers in Doro camp had not had a single instance of
rape reported to them since the beginning of 2012.
Support
programmes launched
In an attempt to overcome the taboo against speaking about sexual violence,
UNHCR has deployed a team to Doro for three months; its mission, Muradov says,
is to disseminate information about the availability of post-rape care and get
referrals to health services going.
The agency aims to establish a sexual and gender-based violence programme with
focus groups to encourage women to talk more openly. However, the lack of
female interpreters is a major barrier to this project, so, alongside income-generation
projects, language training for women has been made a priority for 2013.
"It's a large part of the strategy moving into a more sustainable
operation," Muradov said.
UNHCR has also launched "fuel efficiency talks", which provide
training for women across all four
Meanwhile, UNHCR's Muradov says the American Refugee Council is focusing on
psychosocial counselling, while Handicap International is looking at people
with special needs. Other humanitarian agencies say they are in the initial
phases of establishing income-generating projects for women, aimed at fostering
economic independence for female-headed households to protect them from exploitation.
For now though, Mahasa remains worried. "Without a husband, I may not be
able to provide for the children," she said.
*Family names withheld
__________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2012 11:00 AM
Subject: South Sudan - Refugee Oumi's Story - Video
WUNRN
UNHCR - UN Refugee Agency
Through Oumi's words and eyes, are
reflected the hardships, insecurities, poverty, losses, and realities of a
displaced refugee woman in Africa
who has fled with family to escape
the war and fighting.
South Sudan -
Refugee Oumi's Story - Video
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