CEDAW/C/GC/30 structures; and poor layout and infrastructure, both in camp and non-camp settings. This situation of dire poverty and inequality can lead them to exchange sexual favours for money, shelter, food or other goods under circumstances that make them vulnerable to exploitation, violence and HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. 55. Refugee women have different and additional needs to men owing to their experiences as refugees. Refugee women face similar assistance and protection concerns to internally displaced women and could therefore benefit from similar gender-sensitive interventions to address their needs. The Committee acknowledges the diversity within these groups, the particular challenges that they may face and the legal, social and other implications of the context of their internal or external displacement, the gaps in the international assistance provided to them and the need for responses targeted to their needs. 56. Searches for durable solutions following conflict-related displacement frequently exclude the perspective of displaced women, either because they rely on decision-making by a family member or community in which women’s voices are marginalized or because durable solutions are set as part of post-conflict processes that exclude women. In addition, female asylum seekers from conflict-affected areas can face gendered barriers to asylum, given that their narrative may not fit the traditional patterns of persecution, which have been largely articulated from a male perspective. 57. The Committee recommends that States parties: (a) Take the preventive measures necessary to ensure protection against forced displacement, in addition to the protection of the human rights of displaced women and girls, including access to basic services, during flight, displacement and in the context of durable solutions; (b) Address the specific risks and particular needs of different groups of internally displaced and refugee women who are subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including women with disabilities, older women, girls, widows, women who head households, pregnant women, women living with HIV/AIDS, rural women, indigenous women, women belonging to ethnic, national, sexual or religious minorities, and women human rights defenders; (c) Promote the meaningful inclusion and participation of internally displaced and refugee women in all decision-making processes, including in all aspects relating to the planning and implementation of assistance programmes and camp management, decisions relating to the choice of durable solutions and processes relating to post-conflict processes; (d) Provide protection and assistance for internally displaced and refugee women and girls, including by safeguarding them from gender-based violence, including forced and child marriage; ensure their equal access to services and health care and full participation in the distribution of supplies, as well as in the development and implementation of assistance programmes that take into account their specific needs; provide protection against the displacement of indigenous, rural and minority women with special dependency on land; and ensure education and income-generation and skills training activities are available; 13-54331 15/24

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