Recognizing the Feminization of Displacement: a Proposal for a Gender-focused Approach to Local Integration in Ecuador

Citation:

Gusman, Johanna L. 2013. “Recognizing the Feminization of Displacement: a Proposal for a Gender-focused Approach to Local Integration in Ecuador." Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal 22 (2): 429–67.

Author: Johanna L. Gusman

Abstract:

The feminization of displacement refers to the phenomenon in which women represent an increasingly disproportionate percentage of displaced populations worldwide. The objective of this comment is to raise awareness of this growing problem and recommend that policymakers craft legal responses to better address this reality, using Ecuador as an example. Specifically, this comment outlines how a gender-focused approach to local integration in Ecuador can rectify a refugee policy that never once mentions gender and is silent on the most pressing issues facing refugee women and girls in the area: sexual and gender-based violence. Through the proposal put forth in this comment, it is hoped that increased attention to the feminization of displacement and the plight of women in general can be recognized and as a result, properly incorporated into the refugee policies that affect them.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Ecuador

Year: 2013