Conflicts and crises harm people differently based on gender, and because women and girls already face legal, economic, and cultural discrimination in many parts of the world, they experience the impacts of war in uniquely severe ways. As global conflict reaches levels unmatched since the post–World War II period, there is an urgent need for stronger national and international responses that protect the rights and safety of women and girls. Recent examples such as sexual violence in Sudan, the breakdown of maternal health care in Gaza, and human trafficking in Colombia illustrate how conflict intensifies existing vulnerabilities.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is now developing a new tool to strengthen protections for women and girls during conflict. This builds on its earlier guidance and aims to broaden global understanding of what women face in war. The committee stresses that sexual violence must not be treated as the only or defining experience of conflict for women, a point reinforced by Human Rights Watch in its submission. Women and girls encounter far wider challenges, including the loss of access to sexual and reproductive health care, contraception, abortion services, maternal care, and menstrual supplies. Education opportunities decline as girls are forced out of school and into early marriages. Conflict strips women and girls of livelihoods, land, and stability, while adding heavy caregiving burdens and worsening struggles for basic necessities like food and water. Displaced women often face unsafe living conditions and asylum processes that do not adequately recognize gender-based persecution.
These experiences are shaped not only by gender but also by intersecting factors such as race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, nationality, and economic status. Narrowly focusing on sexual violence can erase women’s broader roles in peacebuilding, justice initiatives, and political decision-making. A key step for governments is to uphold the right, established 25 years ago under UN Security Council Resolution 1325, for diverse women to participate fully, safely, equally, and meaningfully in all decision-making about their country’s future. Protecting women’s rights—and even reducing conflict—requires ensuring women are present and empowered at every table where decisions are made.
