We are living in truly unprecedented times and the majority of the world is having to make huge adaptations to cope with COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, measures have been put in place across the world to attempt to manage the crisis and slow the spread of the virus. For example, many countries have been forced into some form of lock down with restrictions on international travel, school closures and many people being forced to work from home. However, because it is impossible to socially distance in refugee camps where people are living in very close quarters, in many instances these measures have overlooked those living in refugee camps, particularly young girls. While most states are looking internally at their own populations and ignoring the struggles of those that are most vulnerable in the world, the human rights of girls in refugee camps are being put at risk due to the specific vulnerabilities which come with their age and gender.(1) It is important to call out how COVID-19 is specifically impacting girls in refugee camps, as they are often left out of disaster preparedness and recovery planning, meaning that their vulnerabilities are further exacerbated through relief and recovery efforts.
The main issues that are facing girls in refugee camps as a result of COVID-19 are: higher risks of infection due to the limited ability to contain the virus,(2) further risk of sexual assault particularly when collecting water for sanitation,(3) being used as scapegoats by right wing media and politicians,(4) and being left out of decision making processes. All of this is further compounded by the fact that the human rights of girls in refugee camps are not respected or upheld under ‘normal’ circumstances(5) – this, I find particularly challenging, as a world where anyone’s basic rights are at risk should never be considered normal.
Under ‘normal’ circumstances, the specific rights of girls in humanitarian settings, particularly refugee camps, are rarely prioritised within international law. Where they are recognised, it is in the context of “women” (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women: CEDAW) or “children” (Convention on the Rights of the Child: CRC) and not through the intersectional lens of age and gender.(6) The reasons behind this are complex and multifaceted, but one of the factors contributing to this is power, particularly the lack of power that girls hold on the international stage in comparison to adults or boys of the same age. These unequal power relations often lead to girls’ lived experiences being overlooked, creating a lack of understanding of the vulnerabilities that are caused by the intersections of their age and gender by those who hold power and make policy decisions. For example, in times of crisis, boys are more likely to receive food when it is restricted, girls often have to take on caring responsibilities when family members become ill, and girls face the increased risk of exposure to violence due to unequal power relations.(7)
COVID-19 places refugees at particular risk due to the lack of healthcare provisions in refugee camps, the inability to physically distance, and limited availability of sanitation. Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the refugee camp that hosts over 1 million Rohingya refugees.(8) The reality of these issues are beginning to come to light as the lack of ability to physically distance and a lack of sanitation means that the virus is spreading quickly. Another major issue associated with COVID-19 in refugee camps is the lack of testing, meaning that when there are cases it will be difficult to track how far it spreads and isolate people to stop the spread of the virus.
Whilst the virus does not discriminate, the vulnerabilities that girls and young women experience in refugee contexts are further exacerbated as a result of COVID-19 and their human rights further infringed upon. Women and children make up 50% of refugee populations, and in these settings they take on many caring responsibilities,(9) looking after the sick and most vulnerable, which means that the impact of COVID-19 will be more heavily weighted towards them. COVID-19 places women and girls at a greater risk of sexual assault and rape in refugee camps due to the increased need for water and sanitation which are hotspots for violence in refugee camps.(10)
Those living in refugee camps are often left out of disaster and epidemic preparedness and recovery planning.(11) Even under ‘normal’ circumstances, refugees do not have a seat at the table when it comes to deciding how to prepare for disasters or how to recover from them. This means that whilst the rest of the world is working to build back from this global crisis and establish the new normal, the voices of refugees risk being left behind. Participation in decision making processes is critical for refugees from a human rights perspective and to ensure that their needs are met, in particular in the context of COVID-19.
Due to the unique nature of the lived realities of girls in refugee camps, based on the intersections between their age, gender and refugee status, they are not being invited to decision-making circles and not being represented in the process. The implications of refugees, in particular refugee girls, not being able to participate in decision making are numerous, with the most prominent being that their lived experiences are overlooked, so they risk not receiving critical health care information and water sanitation stations are not in safe places, which increases the risks of sexual assault.
COVID-19 risks pushing girls in refugee camps further into the shadows where their human rights are not respected or protected. Including girls in conversations about how to recover from COVID-19 would give them the ability to help to imagine a ‘new normal’ after the pandemic is over. This is not only crucial to ensuring that girls’ needs are met right now, but it also holds the potential to be dramatically transformative for how girls’ rights and needs of girls in refugee camps are recognised in the future.
In order to uphold the human rights of girls in refugee camps, particularly during a global pandemic, it is critical that the following actions are taken:
Firstly, the specific rights and needs of young girls must be recognised, ensuring they are not lost under the larger umbrella of women’s rights, children’s rights or refugee rights;
Girls in refugee camps need to be involved in decision-making processes about global and local relief and recovery in order for their voices to be heard and to allow them to be part of the solution;
Power dynamics and existing structures need to be unpacked and transformed, by the current holders of power, in conjunction with girls, to protect girls from the gender based violence they face, particularly whilst they are trying to provide sanitation.
It has been clear that COVID-19 has had heavily gendered impacts throughout many areas of life and refugee camps have been no different. It is critical that, whilst there are many issues that the Global North is currently facing, the most vulnerable do not get overlooked. Participation of girls in refugee camps in decision-making processes and recovery efforts is critical to ensure that their human rights and dignity are respected and upheld going forward, particularly in future crises.
Hannah Edwards
Hannah has a vested interest in the combination of gender equality, social justice and human rights. She has a masters in Applied International Development with a specialisation in Human Rights. She works at Plan International as part of the Strategy, Insights and New Ventures Department.
Non-professionally, Hannah is a big fan of reading and baking and has been enjoying the extra time that lock down has given her to do both of these things.
Follow her on Twitter: @edwardshannah23
References
(1) Devon Cone for Refugees International (07/05/2020) Gender Matters: COVID-19’s outsized impact on displaced women and girls, https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports/2020/5/4/gender-matters-covid-19s-outsized-impact-on-displaced-women-and-girls.
(2) VOA News (20/04/2020) Displaced, Stateless Women and Girls at Greater Risk During Pandemic, UNHCR Says, https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/displaced-stateless-women-and-girls-greater-risk-during-pandemic-unhcr-says
(3) ibid.
(4) Daniel Trilling (28/02/2020) Migrants aren’t spreading coronavirus - but nationalists are blaming them anyway, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/28/coronavirus-outbreak-migrants-blamed-italy-matteo-salvini-marine-le-pen
(5) Council of Europe: Commission for Human Rights (07/03/2020) Human rights of refugee and migrant women and girls need to be better protected, https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/human-rights-of-refugee-and-migrant-women-and-girls-need-to-be-better-protected
(6) Plan International, The Girls’ Rights Platform: About the Platform, https://www.girlsrightsplatform.org/about
(7) Climate Home News (08/03/2020) Power structures over gender make women more vulnerable to climate change, https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/03/08/power-structures-gender-make-women-vulnerable-climate-change/
(8) Rebecca Ratcliffe and Redwan Ahmed (15/05/2020) Fears Rohingya refugees face disaster after COVID-19 reaches Cox’s Bazar, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/fears-rohingya-refugees-face-disaster-after-covid-19-reaches-coxs-bazar
(9) UNHCR, Women, https://www.unhcr.org/uk/women.html
(10) VOA News (20/04/2020) Displaced, Stateless Women and Girls at Greater Risk During Pandemic, UNHCR Says, https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/displaced-stateless-women-and-girls-greater-risk-during-pandemic-unhcr-says
(11) Norweigan Refugee Council for Relief Web (16/03/2020) 10 things you should know about coronavirus and refugees, https://reliefweb.int/report/world/10-things-you-should-know-about-coronavirus-and-refugees