ABSTRACT
Women suffer human rights violations in situations of armed conflict, including terrorism, torture, disappearance, rape, ethnic cleansing, family separation, and displacement, as well as lifelong social and psychological traumatic consequences. This chapter discusses the gendered forms of resistance to, and cooperation with, agents of war and peace. It explains the various legal classifications for war-affected women and explores their impact. The chapter identifies the rights of refugee, displaced, and war-affected women and also explains the importance of international protection of these rights as well as the obligations of receiving countries and countries of origin. It examines the importance of involving women in the design and implementation of conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict transformation and humanitarian assistance programs. The Beijing Platform for Action has also drawn international attention to the particular concerns of war-affected women and hence women refugees face increased burdens for caring for their families.
