How Congress Can Help Women and Girls in Conflict Zones

How Congress Can Help Women and Girls in Conflict Zones
8/20/2023 by Rachel Marchand
U.S. foreign policy prevents the protection of refugees, those in conflict zones, and those impacted by natural disasters.



Women outside at a camp for the internally displaced in al-Suwar, Sudan, about 15 kilometers north of Wad Madani, on June 22, 2023. The fighting in Sudan between the regular army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has claimed more than 2,000 lives since April 15. (AFP via Getty Images)

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently publicly condemned increasing gender-based violence in Sudan in conjunction with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other major global health and human rights groups. This spike in violence—which includes sexual violence toward internally displaced and refugee women and girls—has been steadily rising since conflict began in the region a few months ago. After UNFPA’s announcement, the House Appropriations Committee passed the 2024 State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOP) budget. This proposed funding of approximately $461 million is a striking cut to international family planning funding, shortchanging the current investment of $607.5 million—a financial backing falling far too short to begin with—by 24 percent. The bill also keeps the Trump-expanded global gag rule, reinstates the Helms Amendment and defunds UNFPA—the agency calling attention to this shocking increase in gender-based violence against Sudan’s displaced populations.

Even before the beginning of the conflict in mid-April, more than 3 million women and girls in Sudan were at risk of gender-based violence, according to UNFPA estimates. That number now sits at a disquieting 4.2 million people. In humanitarian settings and among refugee populations, the bodies and lives of girls and women are often the first on the line. Yet survivors of these human rights abuses and those at risk do not have access to essential and protective sexual and reproductive healthcare. After a natural disaster or conflict, the (understandable) focus on basic necessities like food, shelter and water often overshadows women and adolescent girls’ vital need for sexual and reproductive healthcare.

These needs don’t just disappear after a disaster; no matter the environment, there will always be a want for pregnancy and birth care, abortion and contraception access, gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual violence support, and harmful practices intervention. The need for sexual and reproductive healthcare only increases in unstable environments, as evidenced by UNFPA’s recent publication. When girls are forced to drop out of school—which can often serve as a protective space in times of conflict—they are exposed to a heightened risk of early female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and sexual violence. When a family’s livelihoods and economic health are impacted by war or environmental tragedy, girls are at an increased risk of transactional sex and child marriage. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically worsened these outcomes, threatening global progress to end gender-based violence and child marriage by 2030.

It is a human right to access healthcare services and counseling that allow individuals to plan and space their families, determine the course of their lives, and control their health and goals. That human right still exists when people are fleeing dangerous situations, displaced or seeking refuge. But U.S. foreign policy and funding choices have prevented the protection and care of refugees, those in conflict zones, and those impacted by natural disasters. Rape and other forms of sexual violence have long been reported in conflict zones worldwide. Yet, the Helms Amendment has consistently prevented U.S. dollars from funding safe abortions for those in dire need. Language in the amendment specifies that medical providers cannot offer an elective abortion, which can lead to people seeking unsafe options to terminate a pregnancy. For those who have experienced sexual trauma, the ability to control personal decisions in the aftermath of an assault is paramount. Still, the Helms Amendment directly interferes with the ability to make decisions for oneself and receive time-sensitive abortion care.

. . . . .


Protecting access to necessary healthcare for refugees and those in humanitarian settings is non-negotiable. That’s why it’s far past time the U.S. prioritizes total funding of UNFPA and repeals its harmful foreign policies.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/08/20/congress-women-girls-war-refugee-helms-amendment-global-gag-rule-unfpa/