Women are affected in many ways by war. Yet, their plight does not receive the attention it deserves and the law, which protects them, is frequently not observed. What can be done to enhance awareness of the problems women face in those conflicts? Is there a way to ensure that protection afforded by law becomes a reality?
The study from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) addresses those issues by exploring the impact of armed conflict on the lives of women and the coping mechanisms they employ. The study reveals how women go through harrowing and totally unacceptable abuse during armed conflicts. A thorough analysis of international humanitarian law, and to a lesser extent human rights and refugee law, is presented to assess the protection afforded to women through these bodies of law. The study also includes a review of the ICRC’s operational response to the needs of women as victims of armed conflict.
A key finding is that much more could be done to curb sexual violence, including strengthened information dissemination among arms bearers on the prohibition of sexual violence. Other findings are:
- Women’s experience of war is multifaceted – it means separation, the loss of family members and livelihood, an increased risk of sexual violence, wounding, deprivation and death
- War forces women into unfamiliar roles and necessitates the strengthening of existing coping skills and the development of new ones
- War has shown that the safety of civilian women is not guaranteed by the respect due to their sex and gender
- If all the applicable bodies of law are considered simultaneously, the law does adequately cover the needs of women in situations of armed conflict. The challenge lies in ensuring respect for and implementation of existing rules
- Mechanisms for enforcing rights and redressing violations are also of crucial importance. Prosecution of those responsible for war crimes is a very important step forward in the fight against impunity.
Policy implications to maximise the protection afforded by the law to women in situations of armed conflict include:
- Promote the knowledge of and compliance with the obligations of international humanitarian law among all parties involved in armed conflict
- Make everyone responsible for improving the plight of women in times of war
- Involve women more closely in all measures taken on their behalf
- Enlist the support of men by raising their awareness of the specific problems of women
- Allow outside agencies to step into the conflict by launching relief operations in situations where the party to the conflict with primary responsibility for providing assistance is unable or unwilling to meet its obligations
- Carry out further research to determine how agencies can secure respect for the distinction between civilians and combatants in future conflicts.
