On the occasion of international women's day on 8 March, the Global IDP
Project today launched a web special on internally displaced women and
children to draw more attention to their often dire situation. While
women and children comprise between 70 and 80 percent of
conflict-induced internally displaced people, there is still too little
focus on their specific rights and needs. Due to conflict, countless
displaced women have become the heads of their households, and care
alone for children and older parents in an unfamiliar environment. In
2004, widespread sexual violence against displaced women and girls was
perpetrated in 12 countries, mostly with impunity, by regular armed
forces, armed non-state actors, and in some cases international
peacekeepers. Internally displaced children are among the most at risk
of war-affected children. They are often recruited into armed forces,
and are subject to abuses, malnutrition and discrimination. In 2004,
displaced children were unable to access education due to conflict or
faced greater difficulties than other children in accessing education in
21 countries.
The new section features information related to displaced women and
children as well as extensive links to resources, including key legal
documents, training modules and guidelines.
The web special can be accessed on the Global IDP Project's homepage at
www.idpproject.org, or directly at
www.idpproject.org/thematic/women_children/women_children.htm
***
The Geneva-based Global IDP Project, established by the Norwegian
Refugee Council, monitors internal displacement worldwide at the request
of the United Nations.
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