International Womens’ Day: Spotlight on Rohingya women and girls

This International Women’s Day, 8 March, some of the DEC’s member charities, working in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, are putting a spotlight on the situation faced by Rohingya women and girls.

It is now 18 months since the plight of the Rohingya hit the headlines, when the mass exodus of people from Myanmar peaked following an escalation in violence. Now almost a million people, the majority women and children, are living in the sprawling camps of Cox’s Bazar, making it the largest refugee camp in the world.

Women in the camps face many issues; in addition to the extreme sexual and physical violence they experienced as they fled, they are still vulnerable in the camps. Many women are alone, or just with their children, and extreme overcrowding and limited privacy means that they are at further risk of violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, human trafficking and exploitation.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and its member charities raised £30 million for the crisis which is being spent on a range of projects in the camps until September 2019. This includes providing trauma counselling for women and girls, better lighting, clean water, hygiene and healthcare.

The DEC’s Emergency Appeal for People Fleeing Myanmar, which launched in October 2017, is now closed but to support Rohingya women and girls this International Women’s Day please visit the below member charities:

• ActionAid
• British Red Cross
• CARE International
• Christian Aid
• Oxfam
• Plan International
• Save the Children

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