Russia’s War on Ukraine: Women and girls must be at the centre of emergency response

Feb 28

28 February 2022

War is, and has always been, gendered. This has yet again been witnessed in Russia’s war against Ukraine since it intensified on 24 February.

Women, men and gender-diverse people are differently impacted and face specific vulnerabilities as the conflict continues to escalate to a humanitarian disaster of unspeakable proportions.

This is why it’s essential that a gender perspective guides the emergency response in Ukraine from the very beginning – we cannot afford it to be an afterthought as is too often the case in humanitarian conflict response measures.

The rights of women, girls and those most vulnerable, including the LGBTQI+ community, must be put in the centre of international humanitarian response efforts.

As of today, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported at least 406 civilian casualties, including at least 102 dead. The actual figures are most likely a lot higher.

At least 160,000 people have been internally displaced across Ukraine. According to most recent estimates, around half a million have left Ukraine, most of whom are women and children, with the number increasing by the hour.

Restricted access to sexual and reproductive healthcare

As the war rages on multiple fronts, women need continued access to reproductive and sexual health services, including family planning services, abortions and pre- and postnatal care.

A day after the attacks started, a woman delivered a baby, Mia, while shielding from Russian military forces’ bombing in Kyiv in an underground metro station. Other babies have since been born in similarly risky settings.

The need for continued access to essential sexual and reproductive care services is dire, with countless women’s health and lives jeopardized.

According to UNFPA estimates, 80,000 women will give birth in the next 3 months in Ukraine – many of them without access to critical maternal health care.

Gender-based violence likely to escalate

Women and girls are at increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

Even during times of peace, gender-based violence threatens the lives of women and girls, but conflict and emergencies further escalate this risk. Refugees and those otherwise displaced from their homes are especially vulnerable.

Addressing the UN Security Council today, Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted the specific and heightened needs of women and girls:

“Women, so often disproportionately affected by conflict, will be at even greater risk of gender‑based violence,” Mr Griffiths said.

Human rights groups also warn that sexual violence as a weapon of war is likely to rise as the conflict intensifies. Women’s bodies have become battlefields in countless wars past and present, and women’s rights groups highlight that the risk is real for this happening also in Ukraine.

As Oksana Pokalchuk, the director of Amnesty International Ukraine, told The Independent from a bomb shelter in Kyiv: “It will have a bad impact on women in the country. Domestic violence and sexual violence rises in wars.”

LGBTQI+ groups facing specific threats

With Russia’s long history of persecuting members of the LGBTQI+ community, the lives of LGBTQI+ groups are also at severe risk during the ongoing invasion.

Although war impacts everyone and brings devastating consequences for all, LGBTQI+ people, and those most marginalised, often face higher risks.

Members of Ukraine’s LGBTQI+ community have arranged fundraising campaigns to support the Ukrainian army. Many have volunteered to organise training in paramedical support.

Limina, representative of an NGO promoting LGBTQI+ rights in the military, said that the gay community in Ukraine “will resist Russian occupation despite continued discrimination at home”.

LGBTQI+ campaign groups have warned that Russia has a list of “gay rights advocates” to be “killed or sent to camps”, containing names of LGBTQI+ people, journalists and government officials.

Ensuring meaningful participation of women and marginalized groups

Amidst the conflict, global actors have also called for ensuring women’s meaningful participation in security and peace processes. This is a key pillar of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and its subsequent resolutions forming the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

In a recent statement, the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, highlights the importance of civil society organizations on the ground as critical partners amplifying the voices of women and girls.

“The inclusion of women themselves in the decision-making processes and humanitarian response is therefore essential to ensure that their rights are upheld,” Bahous said.

Women, LGBTQI+ people and other marginalised groups are severely affected by the war and face specific vulnerabilities. However, they are also active change agents, fighting for democracy, human rights and a better future for their country.

Women are also fighting the war on the frontlines as they currently make up around 14% of Ukraine’s armed forces, serving in a variety of combat roles. Their roles in Ukraine’s army have been widely strengthened in recent years.

Humanitarian disaster unfolds

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which has been active for the past 8 years, had already left three million people in need of humanitarian assistance on both sides of the so-called contact line. Russia’s recent full-scale invasion and the spread of hostilities is causing a wide-scale humanitarian disaster in all areas of the country.

In the past years since the conflict has unfolded mainly in the east, women were largely left to endure the consequences of war alone as men either went off to battle, sought work elsewhere in Ukraine to support their families or have died prematurely of health problems.

Before last Thursday’s attack, the UN estimated that 2.9 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.4 million were internally displaced in and around eastern Ukraine. According to UN OCHA, 1.6 million of the 2.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine were women.

UN Women highlights that children, the elderly, people with disabilities, those living close to the contact line and those living in the non-government areas are currently the most in need.

Urgent need for gender-responsive action

What is unfolding in Ukraine is already a humanitarian disaster on many fronts. The most pressing humanitarian needs, as also highlighted at the UN Security Council today, are for emergency medical services, including sexual and reproductive health services, critical medicines, health supplies and equipment, safe water for drinking and hygiene, as well as shelter and protection for the displaced.

Essential protection and response services for gender-based violence survivors must be a critical part of all emergency response. Improved access to sexual and reproductive care needs to be prioritised. The needs of the most marginalised, including LGBTQI+ groups and persons living with disabilities, must be effectively addressed.

Integrating a gender perspective into the emergency response, both inside Ukraine and as part of refugee response plans, is critical.

Governments must show support to Ukraine with generous and flexible funding and supply of aid and essential equipment, as every hour in this senseless and unjustifiable war continues to create more casualties and human suffering on a massive scale.

The rights of women, girls, LGBTQI+ groups and those most marginalised must be at the centre of the international community’s emergency response measures from the very beginning.

Addressing their specific needs and vulnerabilities, guided by a gender-responsive approach, must be a key component of effective response efforts.

Scaling up life-saving support and safeguarding the health and rights of women and those most marginalised must be a priority as hostilities continue to escalate in Ukraine.

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