GoWomen: The Impact of War on Women and Girls

The Impact of War on Women and Girls

According to the United Nations, in 2022 more than 600 million women and girls lived in conflict-affected countries, and incidents of political violence targeting women increased by 50 percent in those countries over the last two years. Reading the news and seeing images of recent conflicts in places like Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, it is heartbreakingly clear that women and children who survive the bombs and shooting make up the overwhelming majority of innocent people displaced, traumatized, grieving and picking up the pieces of their lives.

The impact of war on women takes many forms, some more apparent than others. Pre-existing discrimination is only heightened, and they often bear the heavy burden of gendered violence, poverty, and increased inequity. Women are also often targets of systemic sexual violence and abuse as a tactic of war and destroying communities. And, access to essential, life-saving services like reproductive and prenatal healthcare are disrupted, leading to potentially devastating consequences for both a mother and her children. 

At our very core, the Chicago Foundation for Women advocates for the rights of women to fulfill their potential so that they can have healthy and safe lives. This means having access to safe communities, shelter, living wages, healthcare and education. It also requires basic necessities from shelter, fuel,and food, to blankedts, menstrual products, and diapers. 

Refugees from conflict face many challenges in their first few years living in a new country. Language and cultural barriers can create difficulty in navigating the complex systems of healthcare, education, and employment. Women can be even further marginalized by missing out on language learning opportunities because of a lack of child care or because there are cultural expectations to remain in the home. Services responding to their specific needs are often rare, and even if they do exist, are seriously overwhelmed,  

CFW funds organizations providing refugees with the supports needed to overcome these challenges. Syrian Community Network (SCN) is a refugee and immigrant support organization that bridges the gap of services provided by resettlement agencies(which end within 6 months after a refugee’s arrival)to help them navigate complex systems in a new country. SCN has developed Support Circle to provide a safe space where refugee women can in their own language discuss topics important to them and in a context sensitive to their cultural and religious backgrounds. These topics intersect with nearly all social determinants of health (economic stability, neighborhood environment, education, food, community context, and the healthcare system), which staff trained in in  trauma-informed services facilitate. By the staff demystifying these systems and participants openly discussing and learning about available resources, families can meet some of the harsh challenges refugees may be experiencing.

In these times, our whole world seems battered and bruised. Here at CFW, we support women’s organizations on the front lines of peace supporting and advocating for women fleeing war, organizations like RefugeeOne and GirlForward.

RefugeeOne is a resettlement organization in Chicago that helps newly arrived evacuees rebuild their lives. CFW is supporting their women’s health services, including both mental and physical health services that women and girls need to address the trauma and lack of medical care. GirlForward is working to create a community of support dedicated to creating and enhancing opportunities for girls displaced globally by conflict and persecution. They work with refugee young women, helping them with school and to navigate a new community and culture. Like the women that RefugeeOne supports, these girls often have suffered sexual assault and other trauma that require sensitive counseling.

The first important steps are to break down historical gender norms that restrict women’s access to education and economic resources and exclude them from decision-making, making them vulnerable to many forms of violence and abuse are. And especially in wartime and its aftermath, we need more funding for women’s organizations because very often it is women stepping up first to consider the needs of others. Services that are women-focused must be expanded and reliably funded to strengthen women and girls here and around the world. We all rise when we lift up sisters everywhere. 

Together we will persist,

Sunny Fischer,