Women in War: A Lesson in Courage and Resilience

The exceptional wave of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants arriving on the coasts and borders of Europe over the past several months has once again proved that a story is rarely mere statistics. Hundreds of thousands have already arrived, and we expect to see many more-- each of them carries a unique, often tragic, story.

Hailing mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, many of them have fled war-torn countries; they watched as their homes were destroyed and their loved ones were killed or injured. They came to the conclusion that they wouldn't be able to build futures at home. Nonetheless, this is only the tip of the iceberg: in Africa, Asia and the Americas, countless migrants live in countries maimed by armed conflict or violence. They each have their own stories and their own experiences with suffering and adversity.

Nonetheless, there is one statistic that stands out: according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, so far this year, only 12 percent of refugees arriving in Europe were women, and 13 percent were children. Meanwhile, the proportions of women and children in the populations from which the refugees and migrants hail are much higher. How can we explain such a phenomenon? Why do so less women make the trip to Europe? Why are most women left behind?

A few years ago, a well-known UN peacekeeping commander who had served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said: "It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict." This sentence is now burned into our collective memory. And he was certainly not wrong. War has always had different impacts on men and women; generally, fewer of the latter engage in battle. However, in modern armed conflicts --whether in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen or the Democratic Republic of the Congo-- more and more women and girls suffer disproportionately, which is very troubling. In many situations, they are deliberately targeted as part of a war strategy, put through abominable sexual violence and other abuses, and may be victims of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. As a result of war or violence, they are often forced to migrate, to separate from their families and face difficulty in obtaining food, water and health care. They may also become the breadwinners in their families.

While the number of civilians fleeing countries such as Syria and Afghanistan continues to grow, many women and children are left behind. They are often too fragile and vulnerable to take on the perilous journey that has already cost thousands of people their lives. People who flee urgently need protection during the trip and once they've reached their destination. This is all the more true for refugee and migrant women and children, who are more vulnerable to violence and exploitation. The journey is also expensive (a factor exploited by smugglers). Men therefore leave first, in the hopes of bringing their families over later.

It may also be that many women stay back to run their households and to care for those unable to flee. In many cases, it is these women who, through their strength and resilience, keep their families going and maintain the cohesion of the wider community.

These findings demonstrate that global humanitarian needs are now reaching an unprecedented scale in countries affected by armed conflict: never have we faced so many complex crises at the same time, and never has there been so little response from global humanitarian aid organizations.

The "migrant crisis" facing Europe demonstrates not only the international system's inability to combat the causes and consequences of long-term armed conflicts, but also the growing constraints international organizations face in providing aid and protection to populations affected by these conflicts.

This situation can partly be explained by lack of funds. Many humanitarian organizations are absent from conflict areas due to extreme violence and unsafe conditions, or because they're barred from accessing these areas by states and, often, by a growing number of non-state armed groups. Even basic rules of international humanitarian law are frequently violated, often with complete impunity. Under these conditions, many international humanitarian actors choose to delegate field operations to local partners, who in turn take on the risks.

For a humanitarian organization such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), it is essential to act in compliance with the fundamental principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence, in order to gain as much acceptance as possible from all stakeholders, and to get safe access to people in need of assistance and protection. To achieve this, we must overcome a sizeable challenge: we must constantly prove the relevance and effectiveness of our actions, in a context where trust is often lacking. We need to demonstrate our legitimacy to those who need us most: the beneficiaries.

With women in particular, we shouldn't stop at earning their trust and acceptance by working closely with them and truly listening, so that we may correctly assess their specific needs; we must also rely on their own abilities and experiences. This task can only be achieved by highly trained professionals who are aware of issues related to gender equality and diversity, and who have the appropriate experience and knowledge.

It is essential to develop intelligent and innovative projects that make the most of new technologies and fully include women in needs assessment and the implementation of programs. Some examples are the use of financial transfers using mobile phones in Somalia, and income generation programs for women heads of households in Iraq. Other examples include integrated programs --which include providing medical care and psychosocial assistance-- that aim to address the causes and effects of sexual violence in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Syria, Jordan and Colombia.

Of course, prevention is better than cure. The main challenge is to prevent sexual violence from being used as a weapon of war-- by giving priority to ensuring that states and non-state armed groups respect international humanitarian law (IHL). While the ICRC plays a role in shaping and disseminating IHL in this area, the crux of the problem remains the breach of the law by parties engaged in conflicts, amid a continuing context of impunity.

It is therefore essential to ensure that IHL is respected, because this will also help to prevent or at least reduce the displacement of men, women and children. Similarly, it is essential to provide people in countries with armed conflict with sustainable humanitarian aid, and to do so with neutrality, independence and impartiality.

Whether they remain in their countries or flee abroad, women impacted by war must be fully integrated as we develop solutions aimed at meeting their specific needs and making them less vulnerable. We must do so if we wish to succeed. Humanitarian organizations and donors, including states, must set out to integrate this requirement into their programs, at all stages-- from prevention, to protection, to post-conflict resolution.

As we see during our activities in countries affected by conflict, women are not passive victims. It is essential that they have their say and that they be included in all initiatives aiming to provide appropriate and effective assistance and protection for women, as well as for their children and families. If we do not make the effort to listen to them and to rely more heavily on their experience, we risk being sidelined altogether.

This post first appeared on HuffPost France and was translated into English.

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