The Brink: Prof. Lombe’s Work to Reduce the Impact of War & Displacement on Women Refugees Is Featured
Women refugees are at higher risk of gender-based violence, but the United Nations and other global organizations fail to support these vulnerable groups as much as they should. Prof. Margaret Lombe from BU School of Social Work, an expert in the refugee human rights crisis, talked to The Brink about advising the UN on the many ways the world can better help those affected by war and displacement.
Excerpt from “How War and Displacement Impact Women” by Jessica Colarossi:
In normal situations, about one in five women are likely to experience gender-based violence in their lifetime—during war this is even worse,’ Lombe says. ‘Why? In war, we see layers of protection that women normally have taken away from them—the loss of community, laws, and other forms of protection that they have—and there’s a breakdown of law and order. That is feeding into the normalization of violence and making women extremely vulnerable.’
The group of women she worked with in Kenya all experienced some form of violence as a result of war in their home countries. She and other scholars in the field frame this phenomena as women’s bodies becoming an ‘extension of the battlefield.’ That can continue in refugee camps. Lombe points out that only one percent of funds from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees goes to prevention of gender-based violence against women.”