Meeting the Challenges of Displaced African Women

Citation:

Zammit, Marie Anne. 2012. “Meeting the Challenges of Displaced African Women.” Women in Action on Women in Peacebuilding: 19-24. 

Author: Marie Anne Zammit

Abstract:

The article is about displaced women, particularly African women who are still facing situations of armed conflict and subjected to sexual violence. Those who have attempted to escape mostly end up being displaced. This puts them in a more vulnerable spot and subjected to more violence during the flight out of the country where the women are attacked by smugglers and are trafficked. Displaced women are excluded from mainstream society without access to basic services and excluded from the Justice System. United Nations Resolution 1325, a major policy milestone in the lives of women in conflict situation, urges women to participate in peace negotiations. This was followed by resolution 1820 in 2009 which has contributed to the incorporation of women's rights and eliminating gender-based violence against women and girls during and after armed conflict. Women, particularly displaced women need to be engaged in decision making and be provided with social support, training and empowerment support and access to legal systems.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Justice, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Women's Rights, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 1820, Sexual Violence, Trafficking Regions: Africa

Year: 2012