PHA-Exchange> Women and armed conflict

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Armed Conflict and Women's Access to Health and Reproductive Rights: Another Battle to Fight  (excerpts)
By Nadia van der Linde, WGNRR

 
Recent findings by Amnesty International show that the international community and the Afghan government have been unable to protect women. Armed conflicts around the world withhold women from their right to health. The Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights urges governments around the world to take responsibility for women's health: Health for All, Health for Women.

 

Health for All
 

Health is a basic human right, recognized in international conventions and declarations, but access to health for women has been ignored and even directly violated by governments and international institutions. The last two decades have seen the simultaneous rise of privatisation, structural adjustment programmes, unfair trade agreements and patents on drugs on the one hand and increased religious fundamentalism, terrorism and genocide of people on the other hand. International and national policies that result in greater poverty of populations or promote use of violence and militarism have a direct impact on women's possibilities to stay healthy and enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

 

 

Women's Access to Health 
In order to emphasize the relevance still today of the Alma Ata Declaration and to highlight the importance of women's reproductive and sexual health and rights, the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) has launched the international Women's Access to Health Campaign. This 3-year campaign, organized in collaboration with the People's Health Movement, demands that primary health care be provided to all people and peoples everywhere, taking into account women's reproductive and sexual health and rights needs. The campaign goes beyond merely demanding access to health services, but addresses the enabling conditions that are essential for women to enjoy good health, like equal social, economical and political opportunities and peace. 

  

Reproductive Health and Rights
For sexual and reproductive health to be attained and maintained, the sexual and reproductive rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled. Generally speaking, these rights include the rights of all women and men to sexuality education and information, access to reproductive health care services, choice of partner, choice of whether or not and when to have children, and pursue a satisfying, safe and pleasurable sexual life. 

 

Armed conflict and women's access to health
Armed conflicts seriously affect the health and reproductive rights of women. War causes greater health needs as a result of injuries from violent conflict, lack of hygiene and lack of access to proper water and food. At the same time, wars reduce access to health services because of lack of transportation, road blocks, curfews, closures and lower mobility of women due to lack of resources, socio-cultural stigma and care for family members. Both quantity and quality of health services greatly decrease during violent conflict as funds are spent on the war rather than on repairing, maintaining and developing health services. Health centres in the region and related infrastructure may be severely damaged, looted or even completely destroyed. War is expensive and it is funded at the cost of health care, education and social security. 

 

In wartime, women face extra risk of abduction, sexual violence, trafficking, slavery and harassment. Especially (mass) rape is well known as a "tool of ethnic cleansing" and a "weapon of war". Rape not only results in trauma and possible psychiatric disorders but also in physical injuries and possibly in infections that are sexually transmitted that will have grave consequences for the woman's health if no appropriate treatment is given. Violence against women limits women's access to health and poses demands for specific kinds of medical care. Those women who have survived sexual violence need to be protected from further attacks and receive appropriate treatment for the physical and psychological consequences. There is little public acknowledgement of this and very few programs, aside from those set up by women, have been developed to deal with traumatized women in times of conflict. 

 

Even when a war is over, violence against women continues. 

 

Armed conflict often impels women to leave their homes and possessions, either because of lack of means of survival or fear of an attack. Or it can be part of a deliberate strategy of one of the fighting parties involved. Displacement can have life-threatening implications, as many people are highly dependent on the land as a source of livelihood. Displaced populations face unhygienic circumstances resulting in high numbers of illnesses and plagues and have a higher risk of being sexually abused. Health services are often not accessible and not adequate. 

Reproductive health damage is caused by military toxins, increases in prostitution, violence against women and spread of HIV/AIDS as a result of military presence, budget cuts in social sectors to pay for war, limited mobility as a result of militarism and increased population control.  And finally: war kills people.

 

The Women's Access to Health Campaign joins women and men from around the world to raise awareness and actively promote women's access to health. This years 'Call for Action' published by WGNRR focuses on governments' responsibility for women's health, calling on them to implement what they have committed to years ago. All across the world, organisations and individuals are organising activities to promote women's health and reproductive rights. On all continents organisations and individuals have signed up to support the Women's Access to Health Campaign. Let us know if you would like to join too.

 

Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) is an autonomous network of groups and individuals in every continent who aim to achieve and support reproductive rights for women. For more information about the campaign or the network, please contact Nadia van der Linde (wahc at wgnrr.nl) or take a look at www.wgnrr.org 

 

WGNRR

Vrolikstraat 453-D

1092 TJ Amsterdam

Netherlands 

e-mail: office at wgnrr.nl 

phone: +31 20 6209672

fax: +31 20 6222450

 

 


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