Conflict for too many women is synonymous with rape and violence. It also means sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, maternal morbidity or death.
Sexual and reproductive health is never considered to be as important as food or security, yet for many women and girls, accessing these services can mean the difference between life and death. Many refugee women don’t even report rape; not only is the reporting process lengthy, slowing down their journey, but often the violence is perpetrated by police.
An unprecedented number of women and adolescent girls are crossing into the European Union daily, with the numbers only set to rise. As crises intensify the need for SRH services increases exponentially, yet it continues to be neglected by key humanitarian responders. Most countries do not even have an emergency response strategy in place to deal with crises, let alone one that includes SRH.
Read more #AcrossBorders stories:
► #AcrossBorders: Changing the migration narrative
► #AcrossBorders and origins: Can we get smarter at preventing people from fleeing?
About the authors
Dearbhla Crosse
Dearbhla Crosse is a communications adviser at the International Planned Parenthood Federation European network. She is responsible for guiding the network’s external and internal communications, and developing relationships with member associations and NGOs on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues. She has a master’s degree in journalism and previously worked as communications officer at Action for Global Health, a network of NGOs working on global health.
Nesrine Talbi
Nesrine Talbi is a program adviser at the International Planned Parenthood Federation European network. She is responsible for providing technical guidance and support on issues linked to sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian settings and coordinates the work of the regional Eastern Europe and Central Asia Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crisis. She has a master's degree on management of humanitarian projects and has worked previously for several NGOs in Africa and Latin America as well as for the European Commission Delegation in Cambodia.
