Throughout Ethiopia’s Tigray, Afar and Amhar regions, women and girls are becoming increasingly vulnerable to abduction and sex trafficking as they flee ongoing armed conflict, a group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts warned on Monday.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has highlighted the need for “adequate safeguards” and vetting measures to be put in place against the possible exploitation of Ukrainian women, under the United Kingdom’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme.
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Transforming those who have suffered sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by UN personnel from victims into survivors is the goal of the first-ever official appointed to advocate on their behalf.
Jane Connors took up the post of UN Victims’ Rights Advocate in August and undertook her first field visit two months later.
She has already visited the UN’s peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR), and this week she’s heading to South Sudan.
Safe spaces for Rohingya women and girls seeking sanctuary in Bangladesh are already full to capacity.
That’s the first-hand account of Priya Marwah, Humanitarian Response Coordinator for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the country, who is helping create safe spaces for refugee survivors of gender-based violence.
UNFPA estimates that over half of the Rohingya refugees are women, with approximately 24,000 of them pregnant or breastfeeding.
All are vulnerable to rape and sexual assault.
