Study on practices of preventing and combating violence against women and girls in a humanitarian context: evaluations, recommendations and validation

On 29 November, the International Center La Strada organized a round table to present, debate and validate the study on practices of preventing and combating violence against women and girls in a humanitarian context. Participants interested in the topic are representatives of administrative authorities with attributions in the field of preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations active in this field.

The report was prepared as part of the project “Protecting women from gender-based violence and sexual violence in emergency situations”, implemented by the International Center La Strada with the support of UN Women and funded by the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund. The event is part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

It comes at a time when armed conflicts and other emergencies create a difficult context in which violence against women takes on new forms and connotations. The vulnerability of women and girls is increasing due to the unstable social and political situation, the lack of adequate infrastructure and services for displaced persons. The inequality between women and men becomes even more evident, being generated by the overburden of women, who in these conditions provide non-military support, fully assume vital responsibilities for themselves and their children, constituting a second line of defense of the country.

“We had to admit that we didn’t know enough under the new conditions and with a new category of beneficiaries...”

Elena Botezatu: “It is the right time to discuss this new manifestation of violence against refugee women. It is a difficult context, in which we must admit that we don’t know enough, since we are dealing with a new category of beneficiaries, refugees, who practically arrived here overnight, at the risk of being subjected to various forms of violence, including on the territory of Moldova, during transit or while looking for temporary shelter.

“With this new category of beneficiaries, of course the new challenge was to find the right way to respond to issues related to preventing and combating violence against these women. International data clearly show that displaced women, affected by war, at different stages of their path, can be and are exposed to some forms of violence. Today we will present the international commitments to protect the rights of these categories of persons and identify the gaps that Moldova faces in responding to acts of violence against women and girls in a humanitarian context.”

The report also contains references to Moldova’s commitments as a country that is not a party to the armed conflict, but a country that provides shelter and protection to a very large number of refugees.

The speakers also referred to the context of public policies, since the Country Strategy on Combating Violence Against Women, a very important and comprehensive document with actions to combat this phenomenon, expired in June.

“The incidence of these cases at the international level is increasing, and our vigilance increases respectively.”

Svetlana Andrieș, UN programs specialist in Moldova: “Since April, when that call for proposals to increase measures to combat human trafficking and various forms of violence against refugees was launched, we have increased protection measures and vigilance. There is evidence that the incidence of these cases at international level is increasing, and our challenge, of those who have no experience working in the humanitarian context, was how to address these cases, how we treat them, what is the necessary assistance measure. The creation of working groups and interventions followed. It is important to note that thanks to the promptness of activities, it was possible to discuss a lot, to clarify, to apply new models of reaction. Many of those who provide support and services to potential victims of violence or survivors are aware of procedures and can provide training.”

After a review of what international commitments mean, their connection and their harmonization with the national legislation, the study itself and recommendations were discussed, since the event was attended by international actors, experienced in managing such crises, as well as by local actors, who mastered some things along the way.

“If you want to know how perfect the system is, ask how the beneficiaries feel about it.”

Liliana Istrate-Burciu, the International Center La Strada, spoke about the vulnerabilities and needs of displaced and refugee women and girls in the Republic of Moldova.

“Since 2020, we have been facing borderline situations, first the pandemic, now the war at the border. We are constantly in an exceptional situation. In any case, we must proceed from needs, vulnerabilities and risks, especially in the interests of defending the rights of women, who are most involved. The burden that has fallen on the shoulders of women and girls is far too great. Our system of protection and assistance had to face a double challenge: on the one hand we had to ensure the rights of our citizens, as the problems were not over or halted with war at the border. On the other hand, we had a wave of displaced women and girls from Ukraine, to whom we had to provide all the necessary support.

“Displaced women and girls faced different forms of violence at different stages: psychological, physical, sexual and economic. It is a well-known fact that when there is an armed conflict, cases of sexual offences are on the rise. The barriers and vulnerabilities faced by the alleged victims of such cases are and should be seen by society as necessities.

“The barriers faced by war refugees are classic: lack of information and access to services, difference in languages spoken, the legal context... all this is amplified by distrust, fear, anxiety, stress, insecurity, anger, emotional instability, which increases the degree of vulnerability. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account their concern for providing basic necessities: water, food, shelter, safety and personal security.

“When we are concerned about providing for basic necessities, we report less cases of intimidation or violence.

“Then we should consider intense migration. Moldova was a crossing bridge. Of the more than 900 thousand people who entered the territory of Moldova, only about 90 thousand remained here, the rest were in transit. How likely is it that alleged victims, who intend to move on, will appeal to law enforcement?

“An international expert with experience in humanitarian assistance in conflict zones said, ‘No matter how perfect the system you created is, if you want to find out how functional it is, ask beneficiaries how they feel about it.’”

“Complex approach, new Blue Dot or Orange Safe Space services, and funds bringing salvation”

In turn, Doina Cazacu, of the International Center La Strada, presented the findings of the Study from the perspective of practices of preventing and combating violence against women and girls in a humanitarian context.

The expert noted, among other things, that given the demographic profile of the refugee population, especially women and children, there are increased protection risks, which include sexual violence, exploitation and abuse, as well as human trafficking:

“The risk of gender-based violence in a humanitarian context increases in informal shelters, reception and transit facilities, refugee accommodation centers and in transport from border to transit facilities and on to other countries, especially privately arranged transport, the study reveals.

“Respectively, the community of humanitarian actors had numerous initiatives in the field of preventing and combating gender-based violence and sexual violence in the humanitarian context. They were oriented both on providing information support for refugee women and girls, strengthening the capacities of professionals, creating new services adapted to the humanitarian context (static assistance centers of Blue Dot or Orange Safe Space type), as well as on providing humanitarian aid, through the distribution of essential materials, hygiene materials, or even material aid. This complex approach was possible due to the expertise and support of international partners, who managed to redirect and allocate millions of funds to support the field of preventing and protecting refugee women from any form of violence in a humanitarian context.”

Conclusions and recommendations: building capacities, monitoring, empowerment, policies and communication

The international committees and mechanisms to which Moldova is a party integrate the situation of refugee women and girls, including from the perspective of risks of gender-based violence, as one of the priority aspects that need to be monitored, which require measures of prevention, protection and combating and which must be subsequently reported from the perspective of the progress made. Therefore, in the context of policies and measures aimed at ensuring the protection of women from any form of violence, human trafficking or the protection of children, it is necessary to establish specific measures regarding the situation of refugees/foreign citizens or stateless persons on the territory of Moldova.

Other recommendations include: empowerment of competent bodies; support to review the disaggregated data collection process, which would also reflect data/indicators on the situation of refugee women and girls, according to the requests of international committees to which Moldova is a party (Lanzarote Committee, GREVIO, GRETA, etc.); intensification of communication; elaboration of a regulation on the placement of displaced persons and intervention protocols; as well as other useful standards and guidelines.

La Strada experts hope that the recommendations and findings of this study will help national public authorities in the process of developing the new public policy document in the field of preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, following the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, and the analysis of international treaties and recommendations will contribute to an integrated approach to national policies that include actions to prevent, protect and combat violence against women in general and displaced or refugee women in particular.