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;
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