Women Leading Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine, Now Include them in Leadership, say UN Women and CARE — Global Issues
New York, 11 May (IPS) – A joint UN Women and CARE report on gender disparities in the wake of the Ukraine crisis calls on donors and humanitarian partners to do more to promote voices of women and marginalized communities in humanitarian efforts.
The UN Women and CARE . Gender Rapid Analysis, released on May 4, 2022, reveals the challenges and difficulties faced by women and minorities in Ukraine. UN Women and CARE staff interviewed more than 170 participants to determine the impact of war on their needs and concerns.
The war has affected many areas of life, from their access to education and health care to their livelihoods. In the last two months, women have emerged to assume more rights in households and communities, including community and civil society organisations.
The report revealed that women have been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts. However, they were not included in the leadership or decision-making process.
The risk is that current humanitarian efforts do not adequately address the more complex needs of affected civilians, such as people with disabilities, those displaced before the current crisis, and other populations. minorities, such as the Roma.
Among the report’s key findings, women, men, boys and girls have different needs that need to be considered in the humanitarian response.
However, existing humanitarian aid frameworks need to be improved to better address their complex needs.
Women, minorities and other minority populations face greater pressures, with the combined and intertwined effects of the crisis potentially making them more vulnerable to conflict or loss of income.
While they are at the forefront of humanitarian efforts in their communities, they are not involved in decision-making about how to distribute humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable groups.
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, said: “It is vital that the humanitarian response in Ukraine takes into account and addresses the different needs of women and girls, men and boys. , including the needs farthest left behind… Women have played an important role in the humanitarian response of their communities. They must also participate meaningfully in planning and decision-making to ensure that their specific needs are met, especially those related to health, safety, and fitness. livelihood approach”.
A UN Women Media Compact event discussed the report’s findings and the media’s experience covering the war in Ukraine through a gender lens. Presenting the report at Tuesday’s event were Felicia Dahlquist, Program Analyst from UN Women Ukraine office, and Siobhan Foran, CARE Gender Coordinator in Emergencies.
The speakers agreed that gender-responsive and socially inclusive humanitarian efforts are needed. This feedback can address needs in areas ranging from housing and non-food items (NFI) and education to alleviating the burden of care for stay-at-home mothers.
Dahlquist and Foran acknowledge that many areas need to be addressed at once in a crisis. This puts other factors like gender and diversity at risk for attention.
Another recommendation is to strengthen communications to ensure accountability for affected populations. This means implementing complaint and feedback mechanisms to ensure effective procedures and diverse communication channels to disseminate humanitarian aid information to different groups.
A key topic of discussion was the role of the media in reporting the stories of women, men and minorities on the humanitarian front.
Speakers argued that the media has the capacity and, therefore, the responsibility to address the ongoing issues that women and minorities must address, presenting the nuances and complexity of their experiences. their experiences in the context of their communicative experiences.
The media have the potential to reflect the voices of these communities to the general public, but also need to draw the attention of donors and humanitarian agencies to increase efforts to support organizations driven by leadership women.
Even if donors and humanitarian agencies are expected to be pragmatic in their approach to program planning and implementation, Dahlquist said it is essential to remember the humanity of those who need it. need this aid.
The media can play an important role in expressing the human element, especially among less-reported groups, such as ethnic minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Report of the United Nations Office IPS
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