Making the Global Compact on Refugees Work for all Women and Girls

Approximately half of the total number of refugees are women or girls1. To meet the promise of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, the Global Compact on Refugees and its Programme of Action must specifically address the rights and the needs of over half the world’s refugees at every stage in displacement and recovery.

Conflict and disaster threaten every aspect of women’s and girls’ lives, often in ways that are quite distinct from men and boys. For example, the way in which refugee women and girls are often viewed and treated, combined with gender discrimination, can put them in situations that exacerbate or create vulnerability. They face barriers to accessing the protections that should be available to all refugees, and equally importantly, barriers to participation in planning and decision making, economic empowerment and peace building. Their voices are not heard enough. Despite gains in policy and practice in recent years, the capacities and needs of refugee women and girls are too often overlooked. Their skills and abilities go unrecognized. They are underserved, poorly protected and excluded from decision-making processes. The barriers run the gamut from inaccessible asylum systems and gender-blind needs assessments, to limited access to education, reproductive health care and safe livelihood opportunities.