Watch the replay

This event took place on January 27, 2022

Read the transcript

00:03 [Hana Brixi] Good morning, good afternoon, good evening
00:07 to everyone joining us today. I'm Hana Brixi, Global Director for Gender at the World Bank.
00:14 And I am delighted to welcome you to this important event to talk about gender dimensions
00:21 of forced displacement. And this is urgent. Conflict and climate change are driving forced
00:29 displacement to unprecedented levels. And today we are launching new research on gender dimensions of
00:37 forced displacement. And the research was produced by the World Bank with the support of the UK’s
00:43 foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and in partnership with UNHCR. And we will discuss the
00:50 new evidence on how the hardships experienced by forcibly displaced people are compounded
00:56 by gender inequality, and we will discuss solutions, including effective partnerships.
01:04 Now, to start the conversation, it is my honor to welcome Ms. Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing
01:12 Director of Development, Policy and Partnerships, to share opening remarks. Mari, over to you.
01:18 [Mari Pangestu]
01:20 Thank you, Hana. Good day to everybody. And thank you for joining us at this important discussion
01:27 on the gender dimension of forced displacement. I'm honored to share the stage with such a robust
01:32 panel of researchers, practitioners, and leaders working to address issues of gender inequality
01:38 across the humanitarian development nexus. This work has never been more relevant. Forced
01:45 displacement is on the rise, with the population of refugees, internally displaced persons,
01:51 and asylum seekers surpassing 82 million at the end of 2020. While conflict and violence continue
01:57 to be the leading drivers of forced displacement, as Hana mentioned, environmental degradation
02:03 and climate change are also emerging as critical challenges that force people to flee their homes.
02:10 In addition, the COVID 19 pandemic impacted the forcibly displaced, putting them at increased
02:16 risk for food and economic insecurity, as well as challenges to access health and social protection
02:23 services. Research from the Gender Dimension of Forced Displacement
02:27 program brings important new knowledge and exposes numerous ways that forced displacement
02:33 affects men and women differently in terms of poverty, livelihoods, and risks of violence.
02:40 These research findings will be shared today and have important implications for policy and
02:45 program design. They also underline the urgent need for coordinated responses and even stronger
02:52 partnerships between the organizations that work across the humanitarian development nexus.
02:58 The World Bank's recent $93 billion replenishment of IDA has new commitments to strengthen
03:04 prevention and responses to gender-based violence and scale up women's economic
03:10 inclusion, especially in fragile settings. This builds on the work of IDA19, where
03:16 $2.2 billion was earmarked for promoting durable solutions to forced displacement.
03:22 IDA20 deepens the emphasis on government policy commitment, resilient and inclusive recovery, and
03:28 gender equality. It pledges closer partnerships with UNHCR and national governments in promoting
03:35 durable solutions among both hosts and refugee communities. So it's great to have Gillian Triggs
03:41 from UNHCR here on the panel today. To maximize the impact on the ground,
03:47 addressing issues of gender inequality and forced displacement requires close collaboration with
03:53 many actors: international development organizations, UN agencies, researchers,
03:59 NGOs, local leaders, and most importantly, listening to displaced persons themselves.
04:06 Several World Bank projects work in partnership with other institutions to address the unique
04:12 challenges of humanitarian settings. For example, through the Emergency Multi-Sector
04:17 Rohingya Refugee Response Project in Bangladesh, the World Bank is partnering with UNHCR,
04:23 local government agencies and NGOs to provide safe spaces, psychological support, and other
04:30 resources aimed at preventing and responding to gender-based violence amongst Rohingya refugees.
04:37 Now, a decade after the first world development report on gender equality, the World Bank has
04:43 launched the Accelerate Equality Initiative to highlight what has been learned and identify
04:48 where more focused effort is needed. The barriers, discrimination, and risk of gender-based violence
04:54 faced by women and girls in situations of forced displacement are some of the most egregious…
05:16 Sorry, let me just repeat that sentence. The barriers, discrimination, and risk of gender-based
05:20 violence faced by women and girls in situations of forced displacement are some of the most egregious
05:28 globally and there is a clear need to make the faster progress to achieve better results.
05:34 Looking forward, this requires going beyond addressing gender-based vulnerability.
05:39 Program design should feature a much stronger focus on sustainably empowering
05:43 women and girls to contribute to increased community resilience,
05:47 to break cycles of conflict, and to contribute to maintaining the peace and a re-imagined society.
05:55 Today's panel is the start of a conversation reflecting on the new findings, sharing examples
06:01 of how to use this research to increase gender equality and women's empowerment in settings
06:06 where there is forced displacement, and how to work together to further strengthen partnerships
06:11 and design programs for better impact. So I couldn't think of a better a person to begin
06:17 today's discussion than David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee,
06:23 to present the keynote address. David oversees the agency's relief and development operations
06:29 in over 30 countries, and the IRCs advocacy efforts in Washington and other capitals on
06:35 behalf of the world's most vulnerable people. The IRC is a longtime partner of the World Bank
06:43 with underground collaboration in countries across the world, like DRC, Bangladesh,
06:48 and Kenya. We are happy to have him with us here today. David, the floor is yours.
06:53 [David Miliband] Thank you very much, Mari, for your leadership and
06:57 for your very warm welcome. You are very generous in your words. I can think of many other people
07:05 who I would like to listen to today on this topic, but I'm very happy and honored even to
07:12 be able to reflect some of the thinking that I've been able to learn from in our own organization,
07:19 the International Rescue Committee, working in 200 field sites in 40 countries around the world,
07:26 where people are fleeing to save their own lives, where people whose lives are shattered
07:32 by conflict, persecution, and disaster. I'm also very pleased to be able to acknowledge
07:38 the UNHCR and the UK Foreign Office for their sponsorship of this vital work. As you said, Mari,
07:45 the topic being discussed today has never been more important. Because humanitarian needs,
07:53 including those of the forcibly displaced, have grown so remarkably over the last
07:58 decade. Just to cap it off, the number of internally displaced has risen from 16 million
08:04 in 2010 to over 40 million today, while the number of refugees has doubled to 30 million.
08:11 But I think there's a second reason why this is a particularly important discussion now, and that is
08:18 that they aren't forcibly displaced, we also know more about their condition and we know more about
08:26 how to help them. We have more evidence to do that. I'm very proud that the International
08:30 Rescue Committee is not just a large humanitarian operational NGO. We're also the largest impact
08:38 evaluation agency in the humanitarian sector. And one of the things about which we know much
08:44 more than we did at a decade ago is the evidence about the practical experience,
08:51 the impact of effective investment in women and girls who face multiple inequalities
08:58 in situations of forced displacement. At the IRC, we are seeing firsthand the disproportionate and
09:06 distinct set of needs facing displaced women, but also the solutions which go beyond benefiting
09:13 only our own clients, but also the wider communities in which they are situated.
09:18 The research findings that are published today do present a stark picture. Households led by
09:24 displaced women are more likely to be poorer than parallel male-headed households. And displaced
09:30 women suffer increased effects of intimate partner violence, magnified many times in situations of
09:37 armed conflict and also by emergencies like COVID 19. In fragile and conflict settings, women and
09:44 girls are suffering a double disadvantage because of where they live and because of their gender.
09:51 And what's more, national and multi-lateral responses remain weak and underfunded. And
09:57 compounding the problem is that the world too often is looking away. This is part of the system
10:03 failure that I described in my lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations in December for the
10:09 launch of the IRC Emergency Watchlist for 2022. That watchlist, using over 60 different indicators
10:18 to compile a list of 20 countries, most subjects to humanitarian emergency, showed that in those 20
10:25 countries, 274 million people out of a population of 800 million were in humanitarian need.
10:32 And the watchlist reinforces the findings of the research that's being today to show that women and
10:38 girls in high-risk countries are hit the hardest. 16 of the 20 countries in our emergency watchlist
10:47 are featuring in the bottom category of the Gender Development Index and seven feature among the
10:55 10 of the least gender equal countries according to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace,
11:01 and Security. In these contexts, women and girls often face particular barriers toward
11:06 accessing humanitarian assistance, legal and safe work, and education.
11:11 As a result, women and girls represent over 70% of the people facing chronic hunger,
11:17 while as much as 70% of women and girls in humanitarian settings face gender-based violence.
11:23 Afghanistan, to take one example where the World Bank and the International Rescue
11:26 Committee have worked together, tops the watchlist. Before the change in authority in
11:32 August last year, there were 2.8 million Afghan refugees. And what is clear today is that women
11:38 and girls are bearing the brunt of the appalling economic squeeze that the country is facing.
11:45 Now, at the International Rescue Committee, we say that to be a successful humanitarian organization,
11:52 we also need to be a feminist organization. By that, we mean that in our work
11:58 we recognize and address the structural inequalities that women and girls face
12:03 centered on their gender. For example, it means requiring all our programs to conduct
12:08 a gender analysis in order to have a better understanding of the prevailing gender norms
12:13 in the target communities in which we're working so that we're better
12:16 able to tackle discriminatory barriers. It means working to give our female clients
12:23 influence over program design. And we also recognize that the way we operate
12:28 internally is the engine to drive forward this feminist programming, feminist in the sense of
12:35 understanding and tackling those structural inequalities, which is why we've trained hundreds
12:40 of gender equality champions, launched more than 300 women-at-work groups in our own organization
12:46 to identify gaps in our support for female staff. And it's also why we have our gender action plan,
12:55 which is not just held accountable as management, but it's published on our website so that the
13:00 wider world can see where we have further to go to meet the aspirations that we have set,
13:07 the targets that we have set. Having said this, gender inequality is too rarely comprehensively
13:14 addressed in mainstream humanitarian programs, and the intersecting drivers of these inequalities
13:20 are neglected in target programs such as those, for example, focused on livelihoods.
13:25 The research being published today by the World Bank, and I applaud your openness in doing so,
13:31 shows why such targeting is necessary. And I do want to emphasize that I think there is a special
13:38 role for the World Bank in the multi-lateral system in this process. Because in our experience
13:44 as a humanitarian organization, social problems are best challenged by social and economic
13:51 interventions, or maybe a better way to put it is that economic empowerment programs aimed at women
13:58 help improve the efficacy of the social programs. So the issue of gender inequality, far from being
14:05 a diversion from the work of the World Bank, is absolutely core to the success of the World Bank's
14:12 work. And it's in that context that my colleagues and I wanted to suggest three recommendations as
14:20 the Bank embarks on its yearlong Gender Equality and Development +10 process,
14:25 its Accelerate Equality initiative. These recommendations are based on
14:31 our evidence of what works, but also speak to the research evidence you're publishing today.
14:39 First, an inclusive economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic, which we must
14:44 never forget remains the central feature of many people's lives around the world today.
14:49 And progress for displaced women relies on an open and above all inclusive economy,
14:55 expanding rights to work for women, increasing their access to vital financial services,
15:00 and making sure that recovery plans include them. The World Bank fortunately measures women's legal
15:06 economic inclusion through the Women, Business and the Law Index, and has the opportunity to
15:11 influence greater gender equality by urging governments to open economies and expand social
15:16 safety nets. Similarly, the World Bank's refugee policy framework is a tool for assessing refugee
15:22 inclusion. However, to be effective, it must assess both the existence of refugee inclusive
15:27 policy, but also the adherence of authorities to those policies and their implementation.
15:34 Second, we hope that the Accelerated Quality initiative offers an opportunity for the Bank
15:40 to consider the breadth of its partnerships and the opportunity for feminist partnerships,
15:44 including with women's rights organizations on the front line and vital funding for humanitarian
15:50 responders. The most striking example of this critical need is in Afghanistan today,
15:55 where support for female humanitarian responders is more important than ever,
16:00 and the needs of women and girls are growing. But the crisis in Afghanistan also illustrates
16:06 the critical need for any strategy about women and girls to include women and girls in its
16:10 development. And we hope that the bank can expand meaningful consultation with frontline actors and
16:18 amplify the work of female humanitarians, as well as displaced women, as it designs the next
16:24 phase of support to assistance in Afghanistan. Thirdly, the research being launched today,
16:33 as well as expanded evidence, such as the UK sponsored second phase of what works to prevent
16:39 violence against women, and the IRC’s research on scaling economic opportunities for refugee women,
16:46 lay the foundations for scaling evidence-based programs. There are some things that we don't
16:51 know, but there's a lot that we do know. But too often, the programs that we do know work
16:57 don't reach sufficient scale. A comprehensive understanding of the diverse needs of displaced
17:02 women in diverse settings relies on data disaggregated by age, gender, disability,
17:08 and displacement status. The World Bank, the UN, and the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement
17:14 are well placed to ensure that refugees and IDPs are included in national and household surveys
17:22 and that progress on their protection and wellbeing is properly measured over time,
17:27 ensuring that no one is left behind. I just want to say one other thing about
17:32 these programmatic interventions. The opportunity for organizations like the International Rescue
17:37 Committee, but also I would modestly submit for the World Bank as well, is to use a model of
17:44 intervention that is genuinely in partnership with local communities. And we've made a commitment
17:50 to foster not just partnerships with local NGOs in all the places that
17:55 we work, but to make sure that half of those community-based organizations are led by women.
18:00 And I think that's a good example of how a gendered approach can run through a range
18:04 of different interventions. As I said at the beginning, I'm honored to have the chance to
18:09 present some of the thinking from my colleagues today, honored to have a chance to speak,
18:15 but also to listen to what I think will be a very important dialogue. It's in all of our interests
18:20 that the implications of this important research work are understood far and wide,
18:25 and we are happy to help in that process. Thank you very much indeed for listening.
18:29 [Hana Brixi]
18:32 Thank you very much, David, for your insightful remarks. And thank you also, Mari,
18:38 for your opening remarks. You both underlined the importance of evidence to inform action and also
18:45 the enormous scale of the challenge of forced displacement and gender equality. And David,
18:51 you also highlighted the critical importance of addressing structural inequalities
18:58 facing women and girls. And the fact that addressing gender equality helps
19:03 make development programs more effective. And thank you also for sharing your recommendations.
19:11 Let me now share some highlights from the Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement
19:17 research program, which has been led by my World Bank colleagues, Diana Arango and Lucia Hanmer,
19:24 and involved a lot of researchers and experts globally. The research was designed to address
19:30 three broad questions. One, how does gender inequality affect poverty in forcibly displaced
19:37 populations? Two, how does conflict and displacement affect gender norms and the
19:44 prevalence of intimate partner violence for women and girls? And three, what are the solutions?
19:51 The work culminated in a series of published papers and policy notes, including nine detailed
19:58 country investigations and three multi-country papers covering 17 countries. And you can access
20:04 all these resources through a link that will be posted in the chat box.
20:09 The research is innovative in that nationally representative data were used to produce empirical
20:16 findings, bridging an important knowledge gap. Too often humanitarian and development
20:22 practitioners have helped to rely on generalizations or on their own experience
20:28 to design gender responsive programs. So this new evidence covers an important gap.
20:36 The research findings underscored the importance of understanding the intersection of forced
20:41 displacement, gender and poverty. Over the course of displacement, families can be
20:48 separated and children placed with relatives as a result of household composition change.
20:55 For example, over half of displaced people in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan live in
21:03 female-headed households compared to about a third of those in host communities. In all
21:11 countries, displacement status is associated with multi-dimensional poverty at the household level,
21:18 but gender has important impacts on deprivations experienced by individuals. For example,
21:26 in all countries studied, displaced households are poorer than non-displaced households.
21:33 Individuals living in female-headed displaced households in Ethiopia, Northeast Nigeria, Sudan,
21:40 and South Sudan are more likely than others to be multi-dimensionally poor. And among the
21:47 dimensionally poor, girls who have been forcibly displaced are less likely than boys to complete
21:56 schools. However, the gender of the household head is not always a good indicator of poverty risk.
22:04 In Somalia and Jordan, male-headed households are poorer than female-headed households.
22:11 And other indicators need to be examined. The research finds that gender gaps in caregiving
22:20 responsibilities and access to economic opportunities impact poverty. For example,
22:26 in Somalia, internally displaced households with female single caregivers are most likely to be
22:34 poor. Similarly, IDP households with children are at elevated risk of poverty. But there is
22:42 no association between household composition and poverty rates for non-displaced Somalis.
22:50 In Sudan, internally displaced women worked more on average than the non-displaced women,
22:57 but were also more likely to be poor. In Somalia, for both displaced and non-displaced persons,
23:06 poverty risk is significantly lower for households with more income earners of
23:12 either gender. But for displaced persons, having more female earners reduces the poverty most.
23:21 The research sheds a new light at gender-based violence in forced displacement. So for example,
23:28 in Colombia and Liberia, women who had been forcibly displaced faced 40% and 55% greater odds,
23:37 respectively, of experiencing past-year intimate partner violence compared to non-displaced women,
23:45 and the risks of gender-based violence faced by displaced women can be lifelong.
23:51 In Nigeria and Mali, intimate partner violence prevalence rates are significantly higher
23:59 for women living in households situated near conflict compared to those living in peaceful
24:07 areas of the country. Such pervasive gender-based violence constraints women and girls ability to
24:15 take up economic opportunities and has negative consequences for children's educational outcomes
24:21 and impairs their physical and mental health as has been documented by the research.
24:26 So based on the evidence, based on the research, we argue that using this evidence
24:32 and including the voices of displaced women is critical for identifying solutions. The policy
24:39 responses needed include review and revision of national laws, and it requires policy to achieve
24:48 gender equality and enhance economic inclusion for displaced populations. For displaced people,
24:57 measures to increase free movement and access to labor markets and financial services
25:04 are often as needed as is investment in inclusive social protection and safe,
25:11 affordable care services, notably, childcare. In addressing gender-based violence,
25:18 a full suite of services is needed by gender-based violence survivors, especially those who have been
25:25 forcibly displaced and are experiencing the most prevalent form of intimate partner violence.
25:33 And additional services are also needed to prevent violence before it begins.
25:40 I'm very much looking forward to our conversation today about the lessons and implications of this
25:46 work. And with that, I would like to turn to our distinguished panel. We are joined today by four
25:56 distinguished panelists with unique experience and perspective. We have Gillian Triggs,
26:03 UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant High Commission for Protection with UNHCR;
26:11 Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons;
26:18 Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa region;
26:26 and Paula Gaviria Betancur, member of the United Nations Secretary-Generals
26:32 High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. So I will now turn to Gillian. Gillian,
26:40 the World Bank and UNHCR are working together, and I would say closer and closer together every day.
26:48 So how do you think this has influenced UNHCR programs on the ground? And how can we further
26:57 enhance our collaboration toward achieving SDG 5 on gender quality and women's empowerment,
27:04 especially among those who have been forcibly displaced? So over to you, Gillian.
27:09 [Gillian Triggs] Well, thank you very much,
27:12 Hana. And thank you for going through some of the research findings, which are sometimes surprising,
27:17 but extremely useful in informing all our work. And thank you, David, for our outlining the work
27:23 of the International Rescue Committee and particularly taking a feminist approach.
27:26 I think that's wonderful. But thank you, too, to Mari, in mentioning the joint work that we do at
27:33 Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh for the Rohingya. And I can personally attest having recently been there,
27:39 what a wonderful space it is that's been funded through you for women and girls.
27:46 In the chaos of parts of Cox's Bax, one enters this quite beautiful space for women and girls
27:53 where they can get counseling, advice, and really just a peaceful place. So thank you very much.
28:00 Well, Hana, your first question then is, how do you think the work with the World Bank and the
28:06 partnership with UNH R has transformed the way that we are working on the ground? So the first
28:12 part then of your question and a direct answer is that this working relationship over the last two
28:19 to three years has really been transformative of our protection work in many countries.
28:26 UNHCR provides the factual analysis of refugee needs to the World Bank through the 2019 and
28:35 2020 IDA host communities and refugee windows. And that they in turn enable the Bank to make grants
28:43 and loans to many of the poorest countries in the world with very large displaced populations.
28:49 And it's in that way that UNHCR has been able to work with the Bank to meet the needs of
28:54 these displaced peoples in those particular countries and to prioritize the protection of
29:00 displaced women's and girls. Importantly also, the World Bank helps us to address gender inequality
29:06 with sound, qualitative and quantitative evidence. And of course, in practical reality,
29:13 our donors and partners need evidence if we're to gain their support year after year.
29:19 Well, gender inequality is both a root cause of forced displacement for women and girls
29:24 in many conflicts, but also a consequence of that displacement. At UNHCR, we know from our 530 or so
29:33 field operations that, as Mari's pointed out, 82 million people are displaced globally,
29:40 either in their own country or across frontiers. We know from our daily interaction with these
29:47 displaced people that women and girls living in humanitarian crisis and armed conflicts are at
29:53 significantly heightened risks, exposing them, as has been pointed out, to gender based violence,
29:59 sexual exploitation and abuse, to child marriages and pregnancies, even to trafficking and forced
30:05 labor. But at UNHCR, we don't always have the accurate data and research analysis
30:10 that can ensure that our policies and programs are right for specific contexts. And I'll give
30:16 you an example, if I may. I was recently, or a few months ago, in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.
30:24 And as you will all know, something in the region of 750,000 people are now internally displaced,
30:30 burned out of their villages and killed, leading to mass flights of families to safer areas. The
30:37 situation is very complex. The region is poor, but paradoxically, it has oil and gas resources
30:43 that represent huge development potentials, along with tourism. The Muslim community
30:48 suffer discrimination in the region. Security concerns dominate government policy and the
30:54 country is subject to unprecedented cyclones and flooding, further evidence of the impact of
31:00 climate change on displacement. Well, I visited, during my visit, a displacement settlement,
31:06 where grandmothers are nursing the babies of their children, people who have been killed
31:11 in the conflict. They're unable to find milk or healthcare. They're struggling to survive in tents
31:18 and they're subject to sexual assault at night in the absence of street lighting.
31:23 But each conflict has its own characteristics in leading to displacement, and that is why
31:29 we value the research into the gender dimensions of forced displacement which
31:33 has been developed through this World Bank group with UK Aid and with UNHCR.
31:40 We hope that the emerging results will guide the bank's new gender strategy in forced displacement
31:47 and provide that critical evidence base for the World Bank's 2023 World Development Report,
31:53 that we are really pleased at UNHCR to say will have a focus on migrants and refugees.
31:58 The report will of course also inform the humanitarian development peace programming
32:04 in the future and help us to encourage our donors and partners to integrate the protection of women
32:09 and children into their programs. The aim being, of course, as the secretary generalist has said,
32:14 no one should be left behind. You've been through some of the results
32:18 of the global dimensions of forced displacement work, and I won't repeat them, other than to say
32:24 that the violence levels against women who are displaced is rising globally at an alarming rate.
32:30 And of course, that explains in part why 40% of those people displaced across borders
32:37 in 2020 is about half. Displaced women are 24% more likely to be generally disadvantaged by
32:45 host communities. And one in five displaced women will have experienced sexual violence
32:50 and are victims of gender-based violence while they're on their journeys across parts of their
32:55 own country or internationally, the effects of which will last a lifetime. The results are deeply
33:01 troubling and Hana has explained them. I think we need to read them very carefully, but we also
33:08 need to understand the interaction between gender and displacement with the gender gaps in education
33:15 and other elements that are demonstrated by this research, access to paid work and poverty,
33:20 with some surprising results, actually. And some that one wouldn't have imagined. So I think that
33:24 these will be very important to inform what we do. But the second part of your question,
33:30 if I remember correctly, is that, how is it that the UNHCR can collaborate more effectively with
33:36 the World Bank on this critical question of responding to gender based violence,
33:42 understanding, of course, that it's rooted in historical and cultural power imbalances? Well,
33:48 first of all, UNHCR currently ensures that gender equality is central to all our work.
33:54 But we would like to suggest in our work with the World Bank that the research be extended to
34:00 locations where the Bank and other development partners are expanding their work. For example,
34:06 under the IDA19, 20 windows, 14 countries are currently eligible for financing, and it will
34:13 be valuable to develop further research on refugee women and girls in these countries,
34:18 and to link the Bank's data with our policy and programming more directly so we would have
34:24 a very, very practical and immediate response. Well, I'll close, if I may, in just mentioning the
34:31 load staff for our work now, which is the global compact on refugees. And as you will know, this
34:36 calls for strengthened corporation with women-led refugee organizations. And David has mentioned
34:43 this. It's absolutely crucial that we work at the local level and that we do prioritize the work of
34:50 women-led refugee or displaced persons groups. And by that we really mean meaningful engagement, not
34:58 just adding them to a panel or seeking a bit of consultation, but actually engaging them much more
35:04 directly in decision making and programming and developing policy. And I think that's something
35:09 we need to work on. That voice, the voice of women of experience in displacement is absolutely vital.
35:18 And I'm very much, of course, encouraged by all of the observations of the World Bank
35:24 and including David's comments on the importance of ensuring that in this
35:28 period as we come out of COVID that women have access to financial opportunities
35:35 that they integrated in the economy, because I too believe that economic opportunity for women
35:42 will help to take them or deal with the gender inequality.
35:46 So in summary, we hope to increase our work with the World Bank to provide country-specific facts
35:52 and analysis, to increase the funding programs that will in turn promote gender equality and
35:59 address one of the primary root causes of forced displacement. So thank you very much, Hana.
36:04 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much, Gillian. Thank you
36:07 so much for providing such a powerful illustration on how gender equality is central to UNHCR work,
36:15 and also how it is central to the partnership between UNHCR and the World Bank, and providing
36:21 the examples on the important complementarity of global research with local evidence
36:27 and also the emphasis that is needed to increase women's voice
36:32 and leadership to make development programs more effective. Let me now turn to Cecilia.
36:39 Cecilia, you are representing the interests of the millions of displaced persons globally. So can you
36:47 tell us what have you seen or what can you observe about lives of women and girls who have been
36:54 forcibly displaced, and especially considering also the long-term consequences of displacement?
37:02 And what programmatic response would the international community be prioritizing
37:09 for these women and girls based on the new evidence. Over to you, Cecilia.
37:12 [Cecilia Jimenez Damary] Thank you very much, Hana, for the question.
37:19 And I would like to thank you for the invitation for me to join this distinguished panel.
37:26 And I'm really very pleased with the study that you have produced based on concrete case studies,
37:34 as well as very sound analysis. So I think that your research will go a long way
37:40 in terms not only for the analysis, but actually to the question that you have asked me, knowing
37:49 what the situation of women and girls in forced displacement, which your report amply describes,
37:56 but also how we can programmatically address that. And indeed, displaced women and girls bear the
38:04 brunt of the risk of non-access to many human rights: education, livelihood,
38:11 housing land and property, even documentation, as well as a very important and this despairing
38:18 increase of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, which are actually recorded
38:25 in your report, particularly in conflict settings. Now, this is very, very worrying. But in order to
38:33 answer your questions on how to programmatically respond to this,
38:37 I would like to actually reply in two areas. The first area is a general area of the
38:45 programmatic approach. And I would personally, I would professionally actually even bear to
38:52 emphasize that the impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach can help to position
38:59 displacement as a development issue, particularly with human rights protection implications
39:08 directly for women and girls. We all know that the impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach,
39:17 it underscores internal displacement as increasing the risk of poverty in various ways. It identifies
39:25 particular development processes and challenges required to reverse and respond to such risk,
39:32 particularly as related to gender. For example, more women have the risk of landlessness.
39:41 It's important to analyze, to identify this risk and to what level and what the conditions are,
39:47 particularly in order that the appropriate response such as property restitution
39:55 and as well as provision of land access in an appropriate way is actually
40:02 enhanced and facilitated towards women. You've also asked about livelihood support.
40:10 We all know that women have an increased risk of unemployment or non-access to livelihood,
40:17 again, which are human rights. And the way that we need to refer to this programmatically is to
40:26 ensure that there is really a motivation of the community to set up conditions that will actually
40:34 enable those livelihood conditions to be set up. I just recently went to a country in the Sahel,
40:42 and when I spoke to the IDP women, we had an amazing focus discussion group with the women
40:49 of a particular camp in the Sahel country, which is unfortunately in the throes of
40:58 non-state armed group attacks. And what they were telling us was, "We want to break
41:03 from the dependence that top life has given us and we want to set up our own businesses and we want
41:11 to have our economic individual and family independence or collaboration back."
41:19 Now, the approach of an impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach, in my view,
41:25 underscores the need for us, humanitarians and human rights people and developing partners,
41:33 to move beyond the debates of early recovery. We have to re-conceptualize, in my view,
41:40 displacement as a process that heightens the risk of such impoverishment and exposure particularly
41:49 to these human rights violations. Therefore, this approach to programming also contributes to
42:00 prevention of conditions that force or oblige people to flee their homes. And prevention is
42:06 really an important element in this conversation. Because the increase in the gravity and intensity
42:15 of forcible displacement, majority of whom are women and girls, have to be mitigated. From
42:25 this perspective, the entry point for analysis and programmatic response is the identification
42:33 of the gender-relevant risks and rights followed by systematic efforts to address them
42:41 using the mandates of particular ministries of government, agencies and, as well, civil society.
42:52 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much, Cecilia, especially
42:54 for highlighting displacement as a key development issue and as a human right issue, and also the
43:01 emphasis that is needed on prevention. And in fact, it would be an important area for further
43:07 research to explore how gender equality and women's leadership can contribute to prevention
43:16 of conflict violence and forced displacement. Now, let me turn to Saroj. Saroj, As the
43:23 World Bank Regional Director for Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, how have you seen
43:30 the differentiated impacts of displacement on men and women? Plus, now it is the 11th
43:37 year of the Syrian refugee crisis, which remains the largest refugee crisis in the world. So how
43:44 are governments and other partners in the region responding to the gender dimension of this crisis?
43:51 [Saroj Kumar Jha] Thank you very much, Hana.
43:55 I will make five points. But before that, I have to share with you something, since you asked me,
44:01 how have I seen this. So we are in the 11th year of this crisis. My own reflection is
44:10 that it's very hard and painful to be a refugee. It is even harder to be a refugee woman or girl.
44:20 And this dimension of the vulnerability of a woman and girl being a refugee
44:27 is the most critical vulnerability that we would need to understand better.
44:32 And that's why I welcome this research, because it provides us lot more granularity
44:37 in terms of how we, as a developing institution, the World Bank, can put this aspect at the core
44:45 of our developing response to forcibly displaced. So let me make five points,
44:49 which is important to move the discussion forward. First, the nature of displacement.
44:57 How I see this is that the hosting countries, as well as many partners,
45:02 still tend to believe that the displacements are short term and people will return.
45:08 The reality is that most displacements tend to be protracted globally. And this region,
45:14 where you have more than 12 million displaced population in this region that I work,
45:20 you are in the 11th year of the crisis, there are other displacements, which have been there
45:24 for a much longer period. All this to say that our approach to dealing with the displacement,
45:30 particularly for women and girls, have taken a much more longer horizon in terms of our
45:36 understanding of their vulnerabilities, our financing, our policy dialogue.
45:42 And this applies to both the humanitarian and the development actors.
45:46 It is very important to put that in perspective. We haven't seen that happen yet. It's getting
45:51 better. But I think more understanding, more research on this is going to be very
45:56 helpful. The second is the world in which we live today; we are unfortunately witnessing
46:03 multiple crisis impacting us at the same time. We have conflict. We have frozen conflicts,
46:10 active conflicts. We have climate disaster related conflicts, all happening at the same time.
46:16 And especially at a time when countries are facing very serious fiscal stress and their inability to
46:25 really mobilize more public investments to be able to create jobs. So as a result, you have
46:30 increased poverty, increased unemployment, on top of the various drivers that I mentioned before.
46:38 And I don't think we understand enough where there's push and pull factors when
46:41 multiple crisis impact people at the same time, especially women and girls.
46:46 And how do you really understand it better and factor that in your response,
46:51 more importantly, to build resilience in your programs before these crises impact
46:58 the population? So better understanding of the push and pull factors I think would be important.
47:03 And how do we decouple one crisis from another to really understand the vulnerability and how to
47:09 reduce these vulnerabilities for women and girls. My third point is about the hosting countries.
47:15 Most situation that I have seen here now, these hosting countries, particularly Jordan,
47:20 Lebanon and Iraq, they have had several issues with their business environment, with their
47:26 fiscal policies, with their many sectors in which there is a need for comprehensive reform.
47:33 So there are very serious preexisting constraints in these economies.
47:38 And when they started hosting millions of refugees from Syria,
47:44 this has indeed added a burden on them in terms of the capacity of the public institutions to provide
47:51 education, to provide health services, and so and so forth. But we had to keep in mind that
47:56 the hosting countries, while they're serving tremendous public good by hosting these people
48:00 from neighboring countries, the governments would need to be working both on reforming
48:06 their economy, becoming more competitive, attracting more foreign direct investments.
48:12 At the same time, also continue to provide support for their own population, as well as the refugees
48:18 from neighboring countries. So it is not just a situation that is created by
48:24 the arrival of refugees. There are preexisting issues that also the countries would need
48:29 to work. And this is something which the World Bank, with many other organizations,
48:33 we are quite engaged in that policy dialogue in a longer term reform agenda
48:38 that we can support through technical assistance, through financing, through
48:42 the country platforms that we have established with the government in the hosting countries.
48:47 The fault is on the policy dialogue. I think a number of speakers before have
48:52 talked about creating economic opportunities for refugee women. I think this is something
48:57 which we have made progress in Jordan, with the government of Jordan, which has essentially
49:05 come about comprehensive reforms of the labor market and to create the conditions
49:11 for Syrian refugees are meant to work through flexible work permits, home-based businesses.
49:17 And these flexible work permits allow them to work across various sectors of the economy.
49:22 And as a result, we have seen most Syrian women actually actively engaging in economic activities.
49:28 We have worked with the Jordanian government on digital financial inclusion, which allows the
49:33 Syrian refugee women to have access to finance. We are also looking at how we can intensify
49:39 the support for agriculture-based, value added services, which would allow refugee women,
49:46 including those living in camps, to be able to earn more income.
49:50 So I think the policy dialogue at the country level for the Bank is more focused at this time
49:54 is on access to economic opportunities, in addition to providing support for
50:00 increased capacity in the public institutions to provide education, health and social services.
50:06 The last point I want to make is about the financing. I think there have been several
50:12 innovations in the recent years in trying to provide, I would say, a fit-for-purpose
50:17 financing to the refusing hosting countries. But in countries where you already have a very serious
50:24 debt sustainability problem, and on top of it, they have an additional fiscal impact due to the
50:31 refugee hosting obligations, I think there is a need for all of us to continue thinking how we can
50:37 provide much more attractive fit-for-purpose financing for these hosting countries.
50:43 Bank has these together with several donors and UNHCR, the Global Concession Financing Facility,
50:51 which we use to provide the highly concessional World Bank financing to Lebanon and Jordan.
50:56 But we would certainly like to do more. In the end, I want to stress on the
51:00 fact that we do have a strong partnership with UNHCR and also International Rescue Committee.
51:06 We are working on a very interesting program in Lebanon to really provide social services to
51:12 people who have been coping with multiple crisis in this country. Thank you. Hana, back to you.
51:18 [Hana Brixi] Thank you very much, Saroj.
51:21 And indeed, you highlighted that the displacement is often protracted and it's really important to
51:28 work and find good way to work with host countries, including a good way to support,
51:34 to provide financing, influence policies, influence institutions, and strengthen
51:38 service delivery in host countries. So thank you so much for your observations.
51:43 Let me now turn to Paula. Paula is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General's
51:49 Higher-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. Let me ask you about your experience in
51:55 Colombia. Colombia has some of the largest refugee and IDP populations globally.
52:01 So could you tell us, how do we involve civil society to better
52:06 understand and prioritize the needs of women and girls who have been forcibly displaced?
52:11 [Paula Gaviria Betancur] Thank you, Hana and the World Bank, for this
52:16 invitation and congratulations for the very timely and pertinent work from the Gender Dimensions for
52:22 Displacement program. Both the questions and the findings show innovation and mostly I think vision
52:29 about the responses needed. A special hello as well to my fellow panelists. So I have worked with
52:35 NGOs and civil society for much of my career, and I know the essential role that they play.
52:41 So I'm fortunate today to be able to speak from a civil societies' perspective, but also from my
52:48 experience in public service. And more recently, as you said, as a member of the high-level panel
52:52 that culminated its work in September with the submission of the report to the secretary
52:57 general. So in Colombia, as you know, in 2016, we put an end to one of the largest conflicts
53:04 in the Western hemisphere. More than 13,000 ex combatants were re-integrated to civilian lives,
53:09 of these 3000 are women. And the agreement has a 15-year implementation plan and a series of
53:16 indicators to verify the realization of gender measures. These actions articulate three decades
53:23 of progress in legislation, strategic integration, institutional adaptation,
53:29 social mobilization, and mainly cultural change regarding gender equality and women's rights.
53:35 The peace agreement makes visible and addresses the conditions of historical discrimination that
53:41 have allowed differential impacts of the armed conflict on certain groups, especially women.
53:47 But since 1997, before even the guiding principles existed, Colombia developed a legal framework to
53:53 address the needs of the displaced population. Since then, its public policy framework has
53:58 become more sophisticated and progressive in order to respond in a differentiated manner
54:03 to the impact of displacement. Thanks also, and I have to underline this,
54:07 the supervision of the constitutional court and it's ruling in 2004 that stated that forced
54:14 displacement violates the right to equality and have differential impacts and groups
54:20 with the special conditions of vulnerability. In view of this, the need for affirmative measures
54:25 in favor of particular groups within the displaced population was raised. More recently in 2011,
54:31 with a strong consensus of society, broad participation of victims, and political
54:36 will at its highest level, Colombia designed a public policy and an institutional framework
54:41 to address and provide reparations to victims. This is the Victims and Land Restitution's Law,
54:47 with a differential approach that is a crosscutting element of this victim's policy.
54:52 And it intends to contribute to the elimination of discrimination, marginalization
54:57 based on the recognition of the particular characteristics of certain population groups
55:02 and a differential response in assistance, as well as comprehensive reparations, truth and justice.
55:08 Of particular importance is the recognition of gender-based violence and sexual violence,
55:13 which to to-date has left more than 35,000 victims.
55:18 We have the most robust and complete official registry of victims known,
55:23 which today includes a total 9.2 million victims, of which 8.2 million are internally displaced. And
55:31 of these, at least 4 million are women and girls. This is a critical tool for decision-making. And
55:39 even though, as you said in the studies, that data is disaggregating, shortcomings
55:43 in the information monitoring and evaluation systems, as they do not include always-optimal
55:49 variables for adequate gender analysis and the formulation and implementation of plans.
55:54 So the magnitude of the victimization that is proportionate to impacts, especially on women,
55:58 children, identical communities made it a priority for us to understand their needs.
56:04 So the state put in practice responses based on the recognition of the citizenship of the victims,
56:12 as well on a psychosocial approach that focuses on their capacities to be agents of change.
56:19 So there are mechanisms of participation with gender parity and that's for the construction
56:24 of social fabric in the community through processes of collective reparations and community
56:29 rehabilitations, where the protagonists are women. The internally displaced take an active part in
56:35 the decisions that affect them. As we saw in the more than 12,500 displaced and host communities
56:41 with whom we spoke in the panels process; they have a voice and they want to be heard.
56:47 So I'm making this quick recount to say that all this progress has been possible thanks to the role
56:55 played by civil society during all these years. I can say with no doubt that thanks to the work,
57:02 the state is more legitimate, more transparent, and the rule of law has
57:07 been sprinting. The state improved its capacity to develop dedicated responses
57:12 and solutions for the internal displacement. In particular, I want to highlight the role
57:17 of women organizations, the role in the peace negotiation and in general,
57:22 in getting society and the state to recognize the existence of the impacts of conflict on women
57:29 and girls, and to generate adequate responses for their needs. And I want to take one minute to
57:37 share with you the role of civil society and the panel’s work, which includes international NGOs,
57:43 local NGOs, and researchers. Throughout the panel process, the contributions
57:48 and engagements were invaluable. We received so many useful submissions and research projects
57:55 from NGOs and held several consultations and events together that had a direct impact on the
58:02 panel's conclusions and recommendations. One of which we're really thankful for
58:08 was the partnership we made with NGOs and UN agencies to bring the perspective of IDPs and
58:13 host communities. As I said before, consulted 12,500 IDPs in 22 countries. The panel report
58:22 includes recommendation support for civil society organizations and research networks,
58:28 particularly in countries affected by internal conflicts, and to adopt an age, gender,
58:33 and diversity perspective. It also highlights the importance to build on IDPs capacities,
58:38 to include them in decision-making process relevant to them. Finally, throughout the report,
58:43 it has been said today, the panel stresses the importance to include IDPs in efforts to reach
58:48 the SDGs by 2030 so we leave no one behind. More broadly… Oh, sorry. Yeah. I'm over. It's fine.
58:58 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much,
58:59 Paula, for sharing such a powerful illustration, how civil society
59:06 can play an instrumental role, not only in the reaching the individual and supporting individual
59:13 internal displaced persons and refugees, but also facilitating systemic change,
59:18 including the intervention of the constitutional court and setting up systems that allow the state
59:25 to better understand the needs and address the needs of each person, such as through
59:29 the registries. So thank you very much for these illustrations. And I now would like to introduce
59:36 Mamta Murthi, the World Bank vice president for human development, to share, Mamta, your
59:43 perspective and your closing remark to this so wonderful conversation today. Over to you, Mamta.
59:50 [Mamta Murthi] Thank you, Hana,
59:52 and thank you to all the panelists and to Mari and to David for what has been an
59:58 excellent and very rich discussion. I think I have one of the harder jobs,
01:00:04 which is to summarize what has been said and provide some takeaways. I want to say that the
01:00:10 analytical work that has been put forward on the gender dimensions of forced displacement
01:00:17 has really given us an excellent framing and basis on which to think about the way forward.
01:00:26 Let me mention a few things that each of you said, which have been very important in formulating
01:00:32 my own takeaways. Mari, you highlighted the urgent need to coordinate response across the
01:00:40 humanitarian development nexus to make sure that the work is strengthened. And David,
01:00:48 in your keynote address, you challenged us all to be feminist. You said that all programs,
01:00:54 no matter who finances them, should have a careful gender analysis. You emphasized making sure that
01:01:04 female refugees or displaced persons should have a seat at the table, should have a voice,
01:01:11 along with female-led civil society organizations.
01:01:15 And you also emphasized the role of economic empowerment and economic inclusion programs
01:01:22 in alleviating some of the constraints that women in forced displacement situations face.
01:01:31 Hana, you summarized the really rich evidence that has now been produced on the multi-dimensional
01:01:40 aspects of poverty in the context of displacement. And you really highlighted how gender is an added
01:01:52 dimension of vulnerability. I really appreciate what Assistant Secretary General Triggs said about
01:01:59 the value of the partnership between UNHCR and the World Bank and the very rich inputs that the World
01:02:06 Bank receives in order to do its programming. And also your suggestions on how we can do better
01:02:13 and extend our research to all the additional countries in which the work is being expanded
01:02:20 under IDA20. And special rapporteur Jimenez Damary, I really appreciate what you said about
01:02:29 positioning displacement as a development issue. I hadn't really thought about that.
01:02:34 Also the implication for women and girls. Saroj, you raised many important points about
01:02:42 the broader context in which development is taking place, the long horizon that we need to keep in
01:02:48 mind and the need for more granular research on the push and pull factors that need to be taken
01:02:56 into account in order to construct the response and also to build resilience. And then of course
01:03:03 you reminded us of the preexisting conditions in many host countries, which we have to deal with on
01:03:08 top of dealing with displaced populations. Then finally, Paula, we heard from you
01:03:15 on the importance of working with civil society groups, taking them seriously, and also the
01:03:21 important mechanism that they serve in order to make governments and development partners
01:03:27 more accountable for addressing the needs of women and girls in displaced contexts.
01:03:37 It's very hard to summarize. I hope I've been able to do some justice to everything that has been
01:03:42 said. But I have five key takeaways, things that I've heard, which particularly resonate with me
01:03:49 as we think both about the World Bank's gender strategy in the upcoming period, or also the
01:03:56 work that we do in context where there are displaced populations. I'll give five takeaways.
01:04:05 The first takeaway is really making sure that when we talk about recovery from COVID,
01:04:10 it's inclusive. It includes women and it includes displaced populations, and taking
01:04:16 the inclusion of that recovery very seriously in our policy dialogue and in our programming.
01:04:22 The second takeaway for me is the importance of analytical work. Many of you highlighted how
01:04:28 important it is to have this deeper analysis. We're very happy the new World Development
01:04:34 Report is focusing on migrants and refugees, but it really needs to be the apex of a lot
01:04:40 of analytical work, which helps us further the cause of women and girls in displaced situations.
01:04:51 The third takeaway from me is really the importance of the work that we do on livelihoods
01:04:56 and on what we call productive inclusion. So it is work that actually helps include many more women
01:05:03 and girls in employment and earning opportunities, and helps address the constraints that they face
01:05:14 in achieving these earning opportunities, which are a very important source of empowerment.
01:05:21 I think there's much more we can do in this area. It's already a very strong area of focus for us,
01:05:26 but it's something that we can deepen and take further.
01:05:30 My fourth takeaway is really around the point that David and others made on the refugee compact and
01:05:40 our commitments to making sure that refugees and displaced persons have a voice in both policy
01:05:47 discussions and in programming both the design and implementation of programs. This is already a part
01:05:54 of our economic and social framework here at the World Bank. So it's very consistent with what we
01:06:01 already intend to do. But we need to make sure that we do this systematically,
01:06:05 and consultation and inclusion is meaningful. Finally, I want to say that this discussion has
01:06:12 provided us with so many inputs that I think it re-emphasizes the need for constant consultation
01:06:20 and working with all our stakeholders and partners to make sure that we can discharge
01:06:26 our responsibilities in a much stronger way. So I really want to thank you for all your inputs,
01:06:33 which have given us a lot of food for thought and which we intend to take on board as we think
01:06:39 about systemic solutions. So that we can support large-scale programming that contributes to a
01:06:49 stronger global response to the issue of women and girls in displaced
01:06:57 context. So thank you very much for your contributions and your strong participation,
01:07:03 and I really look forward to working with all of you and taking this agenda forward.
01:07:10 Thank you. And goodbye. And I think this is the conclusion of the event, isn't it, Hana?
01:07:15 [Hana Brixi] Thank you very
01:07:18 much to all our panelists. I'm very much looking forward to
01:07:21 continuing the conversation, the research and the collaboration for action. Thank you.
01:07:27 [Paula Gaviria Betancur] Thank you.
01:07:29 [Hana Brixi] Bye.
01:07:30 [Gillian Triggs] Bye everyone.

Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement

Follow the event on Twitter #AccelerateEquality

- Watch with interpretation in Français | Español -

Violent conflict and the rapid onset of climate change are sending rates of forced displacement to unprecedented levels. At the end of 2020, there were over 80 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide, doubling since 2010. Although commitments to addressing the crisis are growing, knowledge gaps surrounding the impacts of forced displacement persist, especially in terms of how men and women are affected differently.

The World Bank’s Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement (GDFD) program has sought to bridge some of these gaps by studying how gender inequality interacts with and compounds forced displacement, specifically in terms of poverty, livelihoods, gender-based violence, and social norms. Bringing together researchers, practitioners, civil society and leaders, this high-level launch event aims to share new results from the GDFD program, review implications for policy design, and shed light on the importance of embedding principles of gender equality within the development of durable solutions to forced displacement.

00:00 Welcome, opening remarks, and the work done by the World Bank
06:15 The work done by the International Rescue Committee
26:38 The work done by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
36:39 Long-term consequences of displacement and programmatic response
43:20 Differentiated impacts of displacement on men and women / Syrian refugee crisis
51:44 Involving civil society to better understand and prioritize the needs
59:34 Closing remarks

Speakers

Mari Pangestu

Former World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships
@Mari_Pangestu
David Miliband

President and CEO, International Rescue Committee
@DMiliband
Paula Gaviria Betancur

Member of the UNSG’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement
Cecilia Jimenez Damary

Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
@cejjimenez
Saroj Kumar Jha

Global Director for the Water Global Practice, World Bank Group
@SarojJha001
Gillian Triggs

UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with UNHCR
@GillianTriggs
Mamta Murthi

Vice President for Human Development, World Bank
@MamtaMurthi

Moderator

Hana Brixi

Global Director, Gender, World Bank
@WBG_Gender

Read the transcript

00:03 [Hana Brixi] Good morning, good afternoon, good evening
00:07 to everyone joining us today. I'm Hana Brixi, Global Director for Gender at the World Bank.
00:14 And I am delighted to welcome you to this important event to talk about gender dimensions
00:21 of forced displacement. And this is urgent. Conflict and climate change are driving forced
00:29 displacement to unprecedented levels. And today we are launching new research on gender dimensions of
00:37 forced displacement. And the research was produced by the World Bank with the support of the UK’s
00:43 foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and in partnership with UNHCR. And we will discuss the
00:50 new evidence on how the hardships experienced by forcibly displaced people are compounded
00:56 by gender inequality, and we will discuss solutions, including effective partnerships.
01:04 Now, to start the conversation, it is my honor to welcome Ms. Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing
01:12 Director of Development, Policy and Partnerships, to share opening remarks. Mari, over to you.
01:18 [Mari Pangestu]
01:20 Thank you, Hana. Good day to everybody. And thank you for joining us at this important discussion
01:27 on the gender dimension of forced displacement. I'm honored to share the stage with such a robust
01:32 panel of researchers, practitioners, and leaders working to address issues of gender inequality
01:38 across the humanitarian development nexus. This work has never been more relevant. Forced
01:45 displacement is on the rise, with the population of refugees, internally displaced persons,
01:51 and asylum seekers surpassing 82 million at the end of 2020. While conflict and violence continue
01:57 to be the leading drivers of forced displacement, as Hana mentioned, environmental degradation
02:03 and climate change are also emerging as critical challenges that force people to flee their homes.
02:10 In addition, the COVID 19 pandemic impacted the forcibly displaced, putting them at increased
02:16 risk for food and economic insecurity, as well as challenges to access health and social protection
02:23 services. Research from the Gender Dimension of Forced Displacement
02:27 program brings important new knowledge and exposes numerous ways that forced displacement
02:33 affects men and women differently in terms of poverty, livelihoods, and risks of violence.
02:40 These research findings will be shared today and have important implications for policy and
02:45 program design. They also underline the urgent need for coordinated responses and even stronger
02:52 partnerships between the organizations that work across the humanitarian development nexus.
02:58 The World Bank's recent $93 billion replenishment of IDA has new commitments to strengthen
03:04 prevention and responses to gender-based violence and scale up women's economic
03:10 inclusion, especially in fragile settings. This builds on the work of IDA19, where
03:16 $2.2 billion was earmarked for promoting durable solutions to forced displacement.
03:22 IDA20 deepens the emphasis on government policy commitment, resilient and inclusive recovery, and
03:28 gender equality. It pledges closer partnerships with UNHCR and national governments in promoting
03:35 durable solutions among both hosts and refugee communities. So it's great to have Gillian Triggs
03:41 from UNHCR here on the panel today. To maximize the impact on the ground,
03:47 addressing issues of gender inequality and forced displacement requires close collaboration with
03:53 many actors: international development organizations, UN agencies, researchers,
03:59 NGOs, local leaders, and most importantly, listening to displaced persons themselves.
04:06 Several World Bank projects work in partnership with other institutions to address the unique
04:12 challenges of humanitarian settings. For example, through the Emergency Multi-Sector
04:17 Rohingya Refugee Response Project in Bangladesh, the World Bank is partnering with UNHCR,
04:23 local government agencies and NGOs to provide safe spaces, psychological support, and other
04:30 resources aimed at preventing and responding to gender-based violence amongst Rohingya refugees.
04:37 Now, a decade after the first world development report on gender equality, the World Bank has
04:43 launched the Accelerate Equality Initiative to highlight what has been learned and identify
04:48 where more focused effort is needed. The barriers, discrimination, and risk of gender-based violence
04:54 faced by women and girls in situations of forced displacement are some of the most egregious…
05:16 Sorry, let me just repeat that sentence. The barriers, discrimination, and risk of gender-based
05:20 violence faced by women and girls in situations of forced displacement are some of the most egregious
05:28 globally and there is a clear need to make the faster progress to achieve better results.
05:34 Looking forward, this requires going beyond addressing gender-based vulnerability.
05:39 Program design should feature a much stronger focus on sustainably empowering
05:43 women and girls to contribute to increased community resilience,
05:47 to break cycles of conflict, and to contribute to maintaining the peace and a re-imagined society.
05:55 Today's panel is the start of a conversation reflecting on the new findings, sharing examples
06:01 of how to use this research to increase gender equality and women's empowerment in settings
06:06 where there is forced displacement, and how to work together to further strengthen partnerships
06:11 and design programs for better impact. So I couldn't think of a better a person to begin
06:17 today's discussion than David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee,
06:23 to present the keynote address. David oversees the agency's relief and development operations
06:29 in over 30 countries, and the IRCs advocacy efforts in Washington and other capitals on
06:35 behalf of the world's most vulnerable people. The IRC is a longtime partner of the World Bank
06:43 with underground collaboration in countries across the world, like DRC, Bangladesh,
06:48 and Kenya. We are happy to have him with us here today. David, the floor is yours.
06:53 [David Miliband] Thank you very much, Mari, for your leadership and
06:57 for your very warm welcome. You are very generous in your words. I can think of many other people
07:05 who I would like to listen to today on this topic, but I'm very happy and honored even to
07:12 be able to reflect some of the thinking that I've been able to learn from in our own organization,
07:19 the International Rescue Committee, working in 200 field sites in 40 countries around the world,
07:26 where people are fleeing to save their own lives, where people whose lives are shattered
07:32 by conflict, persecution, and disaster. I'm also very pleased to be able to acknowledge
07:38 the UNHCR and the UK Foreign Office for their sponsorship of this vital work. As you said, Mari,
07:45 the topic being discussed today has never been more important. Because humanitarian needs,
07:53 including those of the forcibly displaced, have grown so remarkably over the last
07:58 decade. Just to cap it off, the number of internally displaced has risen from 16 million
08:04 in 2010 to over 40 million today, while the number of refugees has doubled to 30 million.
08:11 But I think there's a second reason why this is a particularly important discussion now, and that is
08:18 that they aren't forcibly displaced, we also know more about their condition and we know more about
08:26 how to help them. We have more evidence to do that. I'm very proud that the International
08:30 Rescue Committee is not just a large humanitarian operational NGO. We're also the largest impact
08:38 evaluation agency in the humanitarian sector. And one of the things about which we know much
08:44 more than we did at a decade ago is the evidence about the practical experience,
08:51 the impact of effective investment in women and girls who face multiple inequalities
08:58 in situations of forced displacement. At the IRC, we are seeing firsthand the disproportionate and
09:06 distinct set of needs facing displaced women, but also the solutions which go beyond benefiting
09:13 only our own clients, but also the wider communities in which they are situated.
09:18 The research findings that are published today do present a stark picture. Households led by
09:24 displaced women are more likely to be poorer than parallel male-headed households. And displaced
09:30 women suffer increased effects of intimate partner violence, magnified many times in situations of
09:37 armed conflict and also by emergencies like COVID 19. In fragile and conflict settings, women and
09:44 girls are suffering a double disadvantage because of where they live and because of their gender.
09:51 And what's more, national and multi-lateral responses remain weak and underfunded. And
09:57 compounding the problem is that the world too often is looking away. This is part of the system
10:03 failure that I described in my lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations in December for the
10:09 launch of the IRC Emergency Watchlist for 2022. That watchlist, using over 60 different indicators
10:18 to compile a list of 20 countries, most subjects to humanitarian emergency, showed that in those 20
10:25 countries, 274 million people out of a population of 800 million were in humanitarian need.
10:32 And the watchlist reinforces the findings of the research that's being today to show that women and
10:38 girls in high-risk countries are hit the hardest. 16 of the 20 countries in our emergency watchlist
10:47 are featuring in the bottom category of the Gender Development Index and seven feature among the
10:55 10 of the least gender equal countries according to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace,
11:01 and Security. In these contexts, women and girls often face particular barriers toward
11:06 accessing humanitarian assistance, legal and safe work, and education.
11:11 As a result, women and girls represent over 70% of the people facing chronic hunger,
11:17 while as much as 70% of women and girls in humanitarian settings face gender-based violence.
11:23 Afghanistan, to take one example where the World Bank and the International Rescue
11:26 Committee have worked together, tops the watchlist. Before the change in authority in
11:32 August last year, there were 2.8 million Afghan refugees. And what is clear today is that women
11:38 and girls are bearing the brunt of the appalling economic squeeze that the country is facing.
11:45 Now, at the International Rescue Committee, we say that to be a successful humanitarian organization,
11:52 we also need to be a feminist organization. By that, we mean that in our work
11:58 we recognize and address the structural inequalities that women and girls face
12:03 centered on their gender. For example, it means requiring all our programs to conduct
12:08 a gender analysis in order to have a better understanding of the prevailing gender norms
12:13 in the target communities in which we're working so that we're better
12:16 able to tackle discriminatory barriers. It means working to give our female clients
12:23 influence over program design. And we also recognize that the way we operate
12:28 internally is the engine to drive forward this feminist programming, feminist in the sense of
12:35 understanding and tackling those structural inequalities, which is why we've trained hundreds
12:40 of gender equality champions, launched more than 300 women-at-work groups in our own organization
12:46 to identify gaps in our support for female staff. And it's also why we have our gender action plan,
12:55 which is not just held accountable as management, but it's published on our website so that the
13:00 wider world can see where we have further to go to meet the aspirations that we have set,
13:07 the targets that we have set. Having said this, gender inequality is too rarely comprehensively
13:14 addressed in mainstream humanitarian programs, and the intersecting drivers of these inequalities
13:20 are neglected in target programs such as those, for example, focused on livelihoods.
13:25 The research being published today by the World Bank, and I applaud your openness in doing so,
13:31 shows why such targeting is necessary. And I do want to emphasize that I think there is a special
13:38 role for the World Bank in the multi-lateral system in this process. Because in our experience
13:44 as a humanitarian organization, social problems are best challenged by social and economic
13:51 interventions, or maybe a better way to put it is that economic empowerment programs aimed at women
13:58 help improve the efficacy of the social programs. So the issue of gender inequality, far from being
14:05 a diversion from the work of the World Bank, is absolutely core to the success of the World Bank's
14:12 work. And it's in that context that my colleagues and I wanted to suggest three recommendations as
14:20 the Bank embarks on its yearlong Gender Equality and Development +10 process,
14:25 its Accelerate Equality initiative. These recommendations are based on
14:31 our evidence of what works, but also speak to the research evidence you're publishing today.
14:39 First, an inclusive economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic, which we must
14:44 never forget remains the central feature of many people's lives around the world today.
14:49 And progress for displaced women relies on an open and above all inclusive economy,
14:55 expanding rights to work for women, increasing their access to vital financial services,
15:00 and making sure that recovery plans include them. The World Bank fortunately measures women's legal
15:06 economic inclusion through the Women, Business and the Law Index, and has the opportunity to
15:11 influence greater gender equality by urging governments to open economies and expand social
15:16 safety nets. Similarly, the World Bank's refugee policy framework is a tool for assessing refugee
15:22 inclusion. However, to be effective, it must assess both the existence of refugee inclusive
15:27 policy, but also the adherence of authorities to those policies and their implementation.
15:34 Second, we hope that the Accelerated Quality initiative offers an opportunity for the Bank
15:40 to consider the breadth of its partnerships and the opportunity for feminist partnerships,
15:44 including with women's rights organizations on the front line and vital funding for humanitarian
15:50 responders. The most striking example of this critical need is in Afghanistan today,
15:55 where support for female humanitarian responders is more important than ever,
16:00 and the needs of women and girls are growing. But the crisis in Afghanistan also illustrates
16:06 the critical need for any strategy about women and girls to include women and girls in its
16:10 development. And we hope that the bank can expand meaningful consultation with frontline actors and
16:18 amplify the work of female humanitarians, as well as displaced women, as it designs the next
16:24 phase of support to assistance in Afghanistan. Thirdly, the research being launched today,
16:33 as well as expanded evidence, such as the UK sponsored second phase of what works to prevent
16:39 violence against women, and the IRC’s research on scaling economic opportunities for refugee women,
16:46 lay the foundations for scaling evidence-based programs. There are some things that we don't
16:51 know, but there's a lot that we do know. But too often, the programs that we do know work
16:57 don't reach sufficient scale. A comprehensive understanding of the diverse needs of displaced
17:02 women in diverse settings relies on data disaggregated by age, gender, disability,
17:08 and displacement status. The World Bank, the UN, and the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement
17:14 are well placed to ensure that refugees and IDPs are included in national and household surveys
17:22 and that progress on their protection and wellbeing is properly measured over time,
17:27 ensuring that no one is left behind. I just want to say one other thing about
17:32 these programmatic interventions. The opportunity for organizations like the International Rescue
17:37 Committee, but also I would modestly submit for the World Bank as well, is to use a model of
17:44 intervention that is genuinely in partnership with local communities. And we've made a commitment
17:50 to foster not just partnerships with local NGOs in all the places that
17:55 we work, but to make sure that half of those community-based organizations are led by women.
18:00 And I think that's a good example of how a gendered approach can run through a range
18:04 of different interventions. As I said at the beginning, I'm honored to have the chance to
18:09 present some of the thinking from my colleagues today, honored to have a chance to speak,
18:15 but also to listen to what I think will be a very important dialogue. It's in all of our interests
18:20 that the implications of this important research work are understood far and wide,
18:25 and we are happy to help in that process. Thank you very much indeed for listening.
18:29 [Hana Brixi]
18:32 Thank you very much, David, for your insightful remarks. And thank you also, Mari,
18:38 for your opening remarks. You both underlined the importance of evidence to inform action and also
18:45 the enormous scale of the challenge of forced displacement and gender equality. And David,
18:51 you also highlighted the critical importance of addressing structural inequalities
18:58 facing women and girls. And the fact that addressing gender equality helps
19:03 make development programs more effective. And thank you also for sharing your recommendations.
19:11 Let me now share some highlights from the Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement
19:17 research program, which has been led by my World Bank colleagues, Diana Arango and Lucia Hanmer,
19:24 and involved a lot of researchers and experts globally. The research was designed to address
19:30 three broad questions. One, how does gender inequality affect poverty in forcibly displaced
19:37 populations? Two, how does conflict and displacement affect gender norms and the
19:44 prevalence of intimate partner violence for women and girls? And three, what are the solutions?
19:51 The work culminated in a series of published papers and policy notes, including nine detailed
19:58 country investigations and three multi-country papers covering 17 countries. And you can access
20:04 all these resources through a link that will be posted in the chat box.
20:09 The research is innovative in that nationally representative data were used to produce empirical
20:16 findings, bridging an important knowledge gap. Too often humanitarian and development
20:22 practitioners have helped to rely on generalizations or on their own experience
20:28 to design gender responsive programs. So this new evidence covers an important gap.
20:36 The research findings underscored the importance of understanding the intersection of forced
20:41 displacement, gender and poverty. Over the course of displacement, families can be
20:48 separated and children placed with relatives as a result of household composition change.
20:55 For example, over half of displaced people in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan live in
21:03 female-headed households compared to about a third of those in host communities. In all
21:11 countries, displacement status is associated with multi-dimensional poverty at the household level,
21:18 but gender has important impacts on deprivations experienced by individuals. For example,
21:26 in all countries studied, displaced households are poorer than non-displaced households.
21:33 Individuals living in female-headed displaced households in Ethiopia, Northeast Nigeria, Sudan,
21:40 and South Sudan are more likely than others to be multi-dimensionally poor. And among the
21:47 dimensionally poor, girls who have been forcibly displaced are less likely than boys to complete
21:56 schools. However, the gender of the household head is not always a good indicator of poverty risk.
22:04 In Somalia and Jordan, male-headed households are poorer than female-headed households.
22:11 And other indicators need to be examined. The research finds that gender gaps in caregiving
22:20 responsibilities and access to economic opportunities impact poverty. For example,
22:26 in Somalia, internally displaced households with female single caregivers are most likely to be
22:34 poor. Similarly, IDP households with children are at elevated risk of poverty. But there is
22:42 no association between household composition and poverty rates for non-displaced Somalis.
22:50 In Sudan, internally displaced women worked more on average than the non-displaced women,
22:57 but were also more likely to be poor. In Somalia, for both displaced and non-displaced persons,
23:06 poverty risk is significantly lower for households with more income earners of
23:12 either gender. But for displaced persons, having more female earners reduces the poverty most.
23:21 The research sheds a new light at gender-based violence in forced displacement. So for example,
23:28 in Colombia and Liberia, women who had been forcibly displaced faced 40% and 55% greater odds,
23:37 respectively, of experiencing past-year intimate partner violence compared to non-displaced women,
23:45 and the risks of gender-based violence faced by displaced women can be lifelong.
23:51 In Nigeria and Mali, intimate partner violence prevalence rates are significantly higher
23:59 for women living in households situated near conflict compared to those living in peaceful
24:07 areas of the country. Such pervasive gender-based violence constraints women and girls ability to
24:15 take up economic opportunities and has negative consequences for children's educational outcomes
24:21 and impairs their physical and mental health as has been documented by the research.
24:26 So based on the evidence, based on the research, we argue that using this evidence
24:32 and including the voices of displaced women is critical for identifying solutions. The policy
24:39 responses needed include review and revision of national laws, and it requires policy to achieve
24:48 gender equality and enhance economic inclusion for displaced populations. For displaced people,
24:57 measures to increase free movement and access to labor markets and financial services
25:04 are often as needed as is investment in inclusive social protection and safe,
25:11 affordable care services, notably, childcare. In addressing gender-based violence,
25:18 a full suite of services is needed by gender-based violence survivors, especially those who have been
25:25 forcibly displaced and are experiencing the most prevalent form of intimate partner violence.
25:33 And additional services are also needed to prevent violence before it begins.
25:40 I'm very much looking forward to our conversation today about the lessons and implications of this
25:46 work. And with that, I would like to turn to our distinguished panel. We are joined today by four
25:56 distinguished panelists with unique experience and perspective. We have Gillian Triggs,
26:03 UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant High Commission for Protection with UNHCR;
26:11 Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons;
26:18 Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa region;
26:26 and Paula Gaviria Betancur, member of the United Nations Secretary-Generals
26:32 High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. So I will now turn to Gillian. Gillian,
26:40 the World Bank and UNHCR are working together, and I would say closer and closer together every day.
26:48 So how do you think this has influenced UNHCR programs on the ground? And how can we further
26:57 enhance our collaboration toward achieving SDG 5 on gender quality and women's empowerment,
27:04 especially among those who have been forcibly displaced? So over to you, Gillian.
27:09 [Gillian Triggs] Well, thank you very much,
27:12 Hana. And thank you for going through some of the research findings, which are sometimes surprising,
27:17 but extremely useful in informing all our work. And thank you, David, for our outlining the work
27:23 of the International Rescue Committee and particularly taking a feminist approach.
27:26 I think that's wonderful. But thank you, too, to Mari, in mentioning the joint work that we do at
27:33 Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh for the Rohingya. And I can personally attest having recently been there,
27:39 what a wonderful space it is that's been funded through you for women and girls.
27:46 In the chaos of parts of Cox's Bax, one enters this quite beautiful space for women and girls
27:53 where they can get counseling, advice, and really just a peaceful place. So thank you very much.
28:00 Well, Hana, your first question then is, how do you think the work with the World Bank and the
28:06 partnership with UNH R has transformed the way that we are working on the ground? So the first
28:12 part then of your question and a direct answer is that this working relationship over the last two
28:19 to three years has really been transformative of our protection work in many countries.
28:26 UNHCR provides the factual analysis of refugee needs to the World Bank through the 2019 and
28:35 2020 IDA host communities and refugee windows. And that they in turn enable the Bank to make grants
28:43 and loans to many of the poorest countries in the world with very large displaced populations.
28:49 And it's in that way that UNHCR has been able to work with the Bank to meet the needs of
28:54 these displaced peoples in those particular countries and to prioritize the protection of
29:00 displaced women's and girls. Importantly also, the World Bank helps us to address gender inequality
29:06 with sound, qualitative and quantitative evidence. And of course, in practical reality,
29:13 our donors and partners need evidence if we're to gain their support year after year.
29:19 Well, gender inequality is both a root cause of forced displacement for women and girls
29:24 in many conflicts, but also a consequence of that displacement. At UNHCR, we know from our 530 or so
29:33 field operations that, as Mari's pointed out, 82 million people are displaced globally,
29:40 either in their own country or across frontiers. We know from our daily interaction with these
29:47 displaced people that women and girls living in humanitarian crisis and armed conflicts are at
29:53 significantly heightened risks, exposing them, as has been pointed out, to gender based violence,
29:59 sexual exploitation and abuse, to child marriages and pregnancies, even to trafficking and forced
30:05 labor. But at UNHCR, we don't always have the accurate data and research analysis
30:10 that can ensure that our policies and programs are right for specific contexts. And I'll give
30:16 you an example, if I may. I was recently, or a few months ago, in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.
30:24 And as you will all know, something in the region of 750,000 people are now internally displaced,
30:30 burned out of their villages and killed, leading to mass flights of families to safer areas. The
30:37 situation is very complex. The region is poor, but paradoxically, it has oil and gas resources
30:43 that represent huge development potentials, along with tourism. The Muslim community
30:48 suffer discrimination in the region. Security concerns dominate government policy and the
30:54 country is subject to unprecedented cyclones and flooding, further evidence of the impact of
31:00 climate change on displacement. Well, I visited, during my visit, a displacement settlement,
31:06 where grandmothers are nursing the babies of their children, people who have been killed
31:11 in the conflict. They're unable to find milk or healthcare. They're struggling to survive in tents
31:18 and they're subject to sexual assault at night in the absence of street lighting.
31:23 But each conflict has its own characteristics in leading to displacement, and that is why
31:29 we value the research into the gender dimensions of forced displacement which
31:33 has been developed through this World Bank group with UK Aid and with UNHCR.
31:40 We hope that the emerging results will guide the bank's new gender strategy in forced displacement
31:47 and provide that critical evidence base for the World Bank's 2023 World Development Report,
31:53 that we are really pleased at UNHCR to say will have a focus on migrants and refugees.
31:58 The report will of course also inform the humanitarian development peace programming
32:04 in the future and help us to encourage our donors and partners to integrate the protection of women
32:09 and children into their programs. The aim being, of course, as the secretary generalist has said,
32:14 no one should be left behind. You've been through some of the results
32:18 of the global dimensions of forced displacement work, and I won't repeat them, other than to say
32:24 that the violence levels against women who are displaced is rising globally at an alarming rate.
32:30 And of course, that explains in part why 40% of those people displaced across borders
32:37 in 2020 is about half. Displaced women are 24% more likely to be generally disadvantaged by
32:45 host communities. And one in five displaced women will have experienced sexual violence
32:50 and are victims of gender-based violence while they're on their journeys across parts of their
32:55 own country or internationally, the effects of which will last a lifetime. The results are deeply
33:01 troubling and Hana has explained them. I think we need to read them very carefully, but we also
33:08 need to understand the interaction between gender and displacement with the gender gaps in education
33:15 and other elements that are demonstrated by this research, access to paid work and poverty,
33:20 with some surprising results, actually. And some that one wouldn't have imagined. So I think that
33:24 these will be very important to inform what we do. But the second part of your question,
33:30 if I remember correctly, is that, how is it that the UNHCR can collaborate more effectively with
33:36 the World Bank on this critical question of responding to gender based violence,
33:42 understanding, of course, that it's rooted in historical and cultural power imbalances? Well,
33:48 first of all, UNHCR currently ensures that gender equality is central to all our work.
33:54 But we would like to suggest in our work with the World Bank that the research be extended to
34:00 locations where the Bank and other development partners are expanding their work. For example,
34:06 under the IDA19, 20 windows, 14 countries are currently eligible for financing, and it will
34:13 be valuable to develop further research on refugee women and girls in these countries,
34:18 and to link the Bank's data with our policy and programming more directly so we would have
34:24 a very, very practical and immediate response. Well, I'll close, if I may, in just mentioning the
34:31 load staff for our work now, which is the global compact on refugees. And as you will know, this
34:36 calls for strengthened corporation with women-led refugee organizations. And David has mentioned
34:43 this. It's absolutely crucial that we work at the local level and that we do prioritize the work of
34:50 women-led refugee or displaced persons groups. And by that we really mean meaningful engagement, not
34:58 just adding them to a panel or seeking a bit of consultation, but actually engaging them much more
35:04 directly in decision making and programming and developing policy. And I think that's something
35:09 we need to work on. That voice, the voice of women of experience in displacement is absolutely vital.
35:18 And I'm very much, of course, encouraged by all of the observations of the World Bank
35:24 and including David's comments on the importance of ensuring that in this
35:28 period as we come out of COVID that women have access to financial opportunities
35:35 that they integrated in the economy, because I too believe that economic opportunity for women
35:42 will help to take them or deal with the gender inequality.
35:46 So in summary, we hope to increase our work with the World Bank to provide country-specific facts
35:52 and analysis, to increase the funding programs that will in turn promote gender equality and
35:59 address one of the primary root causes of forced displacement. So thank you very much, Hana.
36:04 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much, Gillian. Thank you
36:07 so much for providing such a powerful illustration on how gender equality is central to UNHCR work,
36:15 and also how it is central to the partnership between UNHCR and the World Bank, and providing
36:21 the examples on the important complementarity of global research with local evidence
36:27 and also the emphasis that is needed to increase women's voice
36:32 and leadership to make development programs more effective. Let me now turn to Cecilia.
36:39 Cecilia, you are representing the interests of the millions of displaced persons globally. So can you
36:47 tell us what have you seen or what can you observe about lives of women and girls who have been
36:54 forcibly displaced, and especially considering also the long-term consequences of displacement?
37:02 And what programmatic response would the international community be prioritizing
37:09 for these women and girls based on the new evidence. Over to you, Cecilia.
37:12 [Cecilia Jimenez Damary] Thank you very much, Hana, for the question.
37:19 And I would like to thank you for the invitation for me to join this distinguished panel.
37:26 And I'm really very pleased with the study that you have produced based on concrete case studies,
37:34 as well as very sound analysis. So I think that your research will go a long way
37:40 in terms not only for the analysis, but actually to the question that you have asked me, knowing
37:49 what the situation of women and girls in forced displacement, which your report amply describes,
37:56 but also how we can programmatically address that. And indeed, displaced women and girls bear the
38:04 brunt of the risk of non-access to many human rights: education, livelihood,
38:11 housing land and property, even documentation, as well as a very important and this despairing
38:18 increase of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, which are actually recorded
38:25 in your report, particularly in conflict settings. Now, this is very, very worrying. But in order to
38:33 answer your questions on how to programmatically respond to this,
38:37 I would like to actually reply in two areas. The first area is a general area of the
38:45 programmatic approach. And I would personally, I would professionally actually even bear to
38:52 emphasize that the impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach can help to position
38:59 displacement as a development issue, particularly with human rights protection implications
39:08 directly for women and girls. We all know that the impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach,
39:17 it underscores internal displacement as increasing the risk of poverty in various ways. It identifies
39:25 particular development processes and challenges required to reverse and respond to such risk,
39:32 particularly as related to gender. For example, more women have the risk of landlessness.
39:41 It's important to analyze, to identify this risk and to what level and what the conditions are,
39:47 particularly in order that the appropriate response such as property restitution
39:55 and as well as provision of land access in an appropriate way is actually
40:02 enhanced and facilitated towards women. You've also asked about livelihood support.
40:10 We all know that women have an increased risk of unemployment or non-access to livelihood,
40:17 again, which are human rights. And the way that we need to refer to this programmatically is to
40:26 ensure that there is really a motivation of the community to set up conditions that will actually
40:34 enable those livelihood conditions to be set up. I just recently went to a country in the Sahel,
40:42 and when I spoke to the IDP women, we had an amazing focus discussion group with the women
40:49 of a particular camp in the Sahel country, which is unfortunately in the throes of
40:58 non-state armed group attacks. And what they were telling us was, "We want to break
41:03 from the dependence that top life has given us and we want to set up our own businesses and we want
41:11 to have our economic individual and family independence or collaboration back."
41:19 Now, the approach of an impoverishment risk and reconstruction approach, in my view,
41:25 underscores the need for us, humanitarians and human rights people and developing partners,
41:33 to move beyond the debates of early recovery. We have to re-conceptualize, in my view,
41:40 displacement as a process that heightens the risk of such impoverishment and exposure particularly
41:49 to these human rights violations. Therefore, this approach to programming also contributes to
42:00 prevention of conditions that force or oblige people to flee their homes. And prevention is
42:06 really an important element in this conversation. Because the increase in the gravity and intensity
42:15 of forcible displacement, majority of whom are women and girls, have to be mitigated. From
42:25 this perspective, the entry point for analysis and programmatic response is the identification
42:33 of the gender-relevant risks and rights followed by systematic efforts to address them
42:41 using the mandates of particular ministries of government, agencies and, as well, civil society.
42:52 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much, Cecilia, especially
42:54 for highlighting displacement as a key development issue and as a human right issue, and also the
43:01 emphasis that is needed on prevention. And in fact, it would be an important area for further
43:07 research to explore how gender equality and women's leadership can contribute to prevention
43:16 of conflict violence and forced displacement. Now, let me turn to Saroj. Saroj, As the
43:23 World Bank Regional Director for Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, how have you seen
43:30 the differentiated impacts of displacement on men and women? Plus, now it is the 11th
43:37 year of the Syrian refugee crisis, which remains the largest refugee crisis in the world. So how
43:44 are governments and other partners in the region responding to the gender dimension of this crisis?
43:51 [Saroj Kumar Jha] Thank you very much, Hana.
43:55 I will make five points. But before that, I have to share with you something, since you asked me,
44:01 how have I seen this. So we are in the 11th year of this crisis. My own reflection is
44:10 that it's very hard and painful to be a refugee. It is even harder to be a refugee woman or girl.
44:20 And this dimension of the vulnerability of a woman and girl being a refugee
44:27 is the most critical vulnerability that we would need to understand better.
44:32 And that's why I welcome this research, because it provides us lot more granularity
44:37 in terms of how we, as a developing institution, the World Bank, can put this aspect at the core
44:45 of our developing response to forcibly displaced. So let me make five points,
44:49 which is important to move the discussion forward. First, the nature of displacement.
44:57 How I see this is that the hosting countries, as well as many partners,
45:02 still tend to believe that the displacements are short term and people will return.
45:08 The reality is that most displacements tend to be protracted globally. And this region,
45:14 where you have more than 12 million displaced population in this region that I work,
45:20 you are in the 11th year of the crisis, there are other displacements, which have been there
45:24 for a much longer period. All this to say that our approach to dealing with the displacement,
45:30 particularly for women and girls, have taken a much more longer horizon in terms of our
45:36 understanding of their vulnerabilities, our financing, our policy dialogue.
45:42 And this applies to both the humanitarian and the development actors.
45:46 It is very important to put that in perspective. We haven't seen that happen yet. It's getting
45:51 better. But I think more understanding, more research on this is going to be very
45:56 helpful. The second is the world in which we live today; we are unfortunately witnessing
46:03 multiple crisis impacting us at the same time. We have conflict. We have frozen conflicts,
46:10 active conflicts. We have climate disaster related conflicts, all happening at the same time.
46:16 And especially at a time when countries are facing very serious fiscal stress and their inability to
46:25 really mobilize more public investments to be able to create jobs. So as a result, you have
46:30 increased poverty, increased unemployment, on top of the various drivers that I mentioned before.
46:38 And I don't think we understand enough where there's push and pull factors when
46:41 multiple crisis impact people at the same time, especially women and girls.
46:46 And how do you really understand it better and factor that in your response,
46:51 more importantly, to build resilience in your programs before these crises impact
46:58 the population? So better understanding of the push and pull factors I think would be important.
47:03 And how do we decouple one crisis from another to really understand the vulnerability and how to
47:09 reduce these vulnerabilities for women and girls. My third point is about the hosting countries.
47:15 Most situation that I have seen here now, these hosting countries, particularly Jordan,
47:20 Lebanon and Iraq, they have had several issues with their business environment, with their
47:26 fiscal policies, with their many sectors in which there is a need for comprehensive reform.
47:33 So there are very serious preexisting constraints in these economies.
47:38 And when they started hosting millions of refugees from Syria,
47:44 this has indeed added a burden on them in terms of the capacity of the public institutions to provide
47:51 education, to provide health services, and so and so forth. But we had to keep in mind that
47:56 the hosting countries, while they're serving tremendous public good by hosting these people
48:00 from neighboring countries, the governments would need to be working both on reforming
48:06 their economy, becoming more competitive, attracting more foreign direct investments.
48:12 At the same time, also continue to provide support for their own population, as well as the refugees
48:18 from neighboring countries. So it is not just a situation that is created by
48:24 the arrival of refugees. There are preexisting issues that also the countries would need
48:29 to work. And this is something which the World Bank, with many other organizations,
48:33 we are quite engaged in that policy dialogue in a longer term reform agenda
48:38 that we can support through technical assistance, through financing, through
48:42 the country platforms that we have established with the government in the hosting countries.
48:47 The fault is on the policy dialogue. I think a number of speakers before have
48:52 talked about creating economic opportunities for refugee women. I think this is something
48:57 which we have made progress in Jordan, with the government of Jordan, which has essentially
49:05 come about comprehensive reforms of the labor market and to create the conditions
49:11 for Syrian refugees are meant to work through flexible work permits, home-based businesses.
49:17 And these flexible work permits allow them to work across various sectors of the economy.
49:22 And as a result, we have seen most Syrian women actually actively engaging in economic activities.
49:28 We have worked with the Jordanian government on digital financial inclusion, which allows the
49:33 Syrian refugee women to have access to finance. We are also looking at how we can intensify
49:39 the support for agriculture-based, value added services, which would allow refugee women,
49:46 including those living in camps, to be able to earn more income.
49:50 So I think the policy dialogue at the country level for the Bank is more focused at this time
49:54 is on access to economic opportunities, in addition to providing support for
50:00 increased capacity in the public institutions to provide education, health and social services.
50:06 The last point I want to make is about the financing. I think there have been several
50:12 innovations in the recent years in trying to provide, I would say, a fit-for-purpose
50:17 financing to the refusing hosting countries. But in countries where you already have a very serious
50:24 debt sustainability problem, and on top of it, they have an additional fiscal impact due to the
50:31 refugee hosting obligations, I think there is a need for all of us to continue thinking how we can
50:37 provide much more attractive fit-for-purpose financing for these hosting countries.
50:43 Bank has these together with several donors and UNHCR, the Global Concession Financing Facility,
50:51 which we use to provide the highly concessional World Bank financing to Lebanon and Jordan.
50:56 But we would certainly like to do more. In the end, I want to stress on the
51:00 fact that we do have a strong partnership with UNHCR and also International Rescue Committee.
51:06 We are working on a very interesting program in Lebanon to really provide social services to
51:12 people who have been coping with multiple crisis in this country. Thank you. Hana, back to you.
51:18 [Hana Brixi] Thank you very much, Saroj.
51:21 And indeed, you highlighted that the displacement is often protracted and it's really important to
51:28 work and find good way to work with host countries, including a good way to support,
51:34 to provide financing, influence policies, influence institutions, and strengthen
51:38 service delivery in host countries. So thank you so much for your observations.
51:43 Let me now turn to Paula. Paula is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General's
51:49 Higher-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. Let me ask you about your experience in
51:55 Colombia. Colombia has some of the largest refugee and IDP populations globally.
52:01 So could you tell us, how do we involve civil society to better
52:06 understand and prioritize the needs of women and girls who have been forcibly displaced?
52:11 [Paula Gaviria Betancur] Thank you, Hana and the World Bank, for this
52:16 invitation and congratulations for the very timely and pertinent work from the Gender Dimensions for
52:22 Displacement program. Both the questions and the findings show innovation and mostly I think vision
52:29 about the responses needed. A special hello as well to my fellow panelists. So I have worked with
52:35 NGOs and civil society for much of my career, and I know the essential role that they play.
52:41 So I'm fortunate today to be able to speak from a civil societies' perspective, but also from my
52:48 experience in public service. And more recently, as you said, as a member of the high-level panel
52:52 that culminated its work in September with the submission of the report to the secretary
52:57 general. So in Colombia, as you know, in 2016, we put an end to one of the largest conflicts
53:04 in the Western hemisphere. More than 13,000 ex combatants were re-integrated to civilian lives,
53:09 of these 3000 are women. And the agreement has a 15-year implementation plan and a series of
53:16 indicators to verify the realization of gender measures. These actions articulate three decades
53:23 of progress in legislation, strategic integration, institutional adaptation,
53:29 social mobilization, and mainly cultural change regarding gender equality and women's rights.
53:35 The peace agreement makes visible and addresses the conditions of historical discrimination that
53:41 have allowed differential impacts of the armed conflict on certain groups, especially women.
53:47 But since 1997, before even the guiding principles existed, Colombia developed a legal framework to
53:53 address the needs of the displaced population. Since then, its public policy framework has
53:58 become more sophisticated and progressive in order to respond in a differentiated manner
54:03 to the impact of displacement. Thanks also, and I have to underline this,
54:07 the supervision of the constitutional court and it's ruling in 2004 that stated that forced
54:14 displacement violates the right to equality and have differential impacts and groups
54:20 with the special conditions of vulnerability. In view of this, the need for affirmative measures
54:25 in favor of particular groups within the displaced population was raised. More recently in 2011,
54:31 with a strong consensus of society, broad participation of victims, and political
54:36 will at its highest level, Colombia designed a public policy and an institutional framework
54:41 to address and provide reparations to victims. This is the Victims and Land Restitution's Law,
54:47 with a differential approach that is a crosscutting element of this victim's policy.
54:52 And it intends to contribute to the elimination of discrimination, marginalization
54:57 based on the recognition of the particular characteristics of certain population groups
55:02 and a differential response in assistance, as well as comprehensive reparations, truth and justice.
55:08 Of particular importance is the recognition of gender-based violence and sexual violence,
55:13 which to to-date has left more than 35,000 victims.
55:18 We have the most robust and complete official registry of victims known,
55:23 which today includes a total 9.2 million victims, of which 8.2 million are internally displaced. And
55:31 of these, at least 4 million are women and girls. This is a critical tool for decision-making. And
55:39 even though, as you said in the studies, that data is disaggregating, shortcomings
55:43 in the information monitoring and evaluation systems, as they do not include always-optimal
55:49 variables for adequate gender analysis and the formulation and implementation of plans.
55:54 So the magnitude of the victimization that is proportionate to impacts, especially on women,
55:58 children, identical communities made it a priority for us to understand their needs.
56:04 So the state put in practice responses based on the recognition of the citizenship of the victims,
56:12 as well on a psychosocial approach that focuses on their capacities to be agents of change.
56:19 So there are mechanisms of participation with gender parity and that's for the construction
56:24 of social fabric in the community through processes of collective reparations and community
56:29 rehabilitations, where the protagonists are women. The internally displaced take an active part in
56:35 the decisions that affect them. As we saw in the more than 12,500 displaced and host communities
56:41 with whom we spoke in the panels process; they have a voice and they want to be heard.
56:47 So I'm making this quick recount to say that all this progress has been possible thanks to the role
56:55 played by civil society during all these years. I can say with no doubt that thanks to the work,
57:02 the state is more legitimate, more transparent, and the rule of law has
57:07 been sprinting. The state improved its capacity to develop dedicated responses
57:12 and solutions for the internal displacement. In particular, I want to highlight the role
57:17 of women organizations, the role in the peace negotiation and in general,
57:22 in getting society and the state to recognize the existence of the impacts of conflict on women
57:29 and girls, and to generate adequate responses for their needs. And I want to take one minute to
57:37 share with you the role of civil society and the panel’s work, which includes international NGOs,
57:43 local NGOs, and researchers. Throughout the panel process, the contributions
57:48 and engagements were invaluable. We received so many useful submissions and research projects
57:55 from NGOs and held several consultations and events together that had a direct impact on the
58:02 panel's conclusions and recommendations. One of which we're really thankful for
58:08 was the partnership we made with NGOs and UN agencies to bring the perspective of IDPs and
58:13 host communities. As I said before, consulted 12,500 IDPs in 22 countries. The panel report
58:22 includes recommendation support for civil society organizations and research networks,
58:28 particularly in countries affected by internal conflicts, and to adopt an age, gender,
58:33 and diversity perspective. It also highlights the importance to build on IDPs capacities,
58:38 to include them in decision-making process relevant to them. Finally, throughout the report,
58:43 it has been said today, the panel stresses the importance to include IDPs in efforts to reach
58:48 the SDGs by 2030 so we leave no one behind. More broadly… Oh, sorry. Yeah. I'm over. It's fine.
58:58 [Hana Brixi] Thank you so much,
58:59 Paula, for sharing such a powerful illustration, how civil society
59:06 can play an instrumental role, not only in the reaching the individual and supporting individual
59:13 internal displaced persons and refugees, but also facilitating systemic change,
59:18 including the intervention of the constitutional court and setting up systems that allow the state
59:25 to better understand the needs and address the needs of each person, such as through
59:29 the registries. So thank you very much for these illustrations. And I now would like to introduce
59:36 Mamta Murthi, the World Bank vice president for human development, to share, Mamta, your
59:43 perspective and your closing remark to this so wonderful conversation today. Over to you, Mamta.
59:50 [Mamta Murthi] Thank you, Hana,
59:52 and thank you to all the panelists and to Mari and to David for what has been an
59:58 excellent and very rich discussion. I think I have one of the harder jobs,
01:00:04 which is to summarize what has been said and provide some takeaways. I want to say that the
01:00:10 analytical work that has been put forward on the gender dimensions of forced displacement
01:00:17 has really given us an excellent framing and basis on which to think about the way forward.
01:00:26 Let me mention a few things that each of you said, which have been very important in formulating
01:00:32 my own takeaways. Mari, you highlighted the urgent need to coordinate response across the
01:00:40 humanitarian development nexus to make sure that the work is strengthened. And David,
01:00:48 in your keynote address, you challenged us all to be feminist. You said that all programs,
01:00:54 no matter who finances them, should have a careful gender analysis. You emphasized making sure that
01:01:04 female refugees or displaced persons should have a seat at the table, should have a voice,
01:01:11 along with female-led civil society organizations.
01:01:15 And you also emphasized the role of economic empowerment and economic inclusion programs
01:01:22 in alleviating some of the constraints that women in forced displacement situations face.
01:01:31 Hana, you summarized the really rich evidence that has now been produced on the multi-dimensional
01:01:40 aspects of poverty in the context of displacement. And you really highlighted how gender is an added
01:01:52 dimension of vulnerability. I really appreciate what Assistant Secretary General Triggs said about
01:01:59 the value of the partnership between UNHCR and the World Bank and the very rich inputs that the World
01:02:06 Bank receives in order to do its programming. And also your suggestions on how we can do better
01:02:13 and extend our research to all the additional countries in which the work is being expanded
01:02:20 under IDA20. And special rapporteur Jimenez Damary, I really appreciate what you said about
01:02:29 positioning displacement as a development issue. I hadn't really thought about that.
01:02:34 Also the implication for women and girls. Saroj, you raised many important points about
01:02:42 the broader context in which development is taking place, the long horizon that we need to keep in
01:02:48 mind and the need for more granular research on the push and pull factors that need to be taken
01:02:56 into account in order to construct the response and also to build resilience. And then of course
01:03:03 you reminded us of the preexisting conditions in many host countries, which we have to deal with on
01:03:08 top of dealing with displaced populations. Then finally, Paula, we heard from you
01:03:15 on the importance of working with civil society groups, taking them seriously, and also the
01:03:21 important mechanism that they serve in order to make governments and development partners
01:03:27 more accountable for addressing the needs of women and girls in displaced contexts.
01:03:37 It's very hard to summarize. I hope I've been able to do some justice to everything that has been
01:03:42 said. But I have five key takeaways, things that I've heard, which particularly resonate with me
01:03:49 as we think both about the World Bank's gender strategy in the upcoming period, or also the
01:03:56 work that we do in context where there are displaced populations. I'll give five takeaways.
01:04:05 The first takeaway is really making sure that when we talk about recovery from COVID,
01:04:10 it's inclusive. It includes women and it includes displaced populations, and taking
01:04:16 the inclusion of that recovery very seriously in our policy dialogue and in our programming.
01:04:22 The second takeaway for me is the importance of analytical work. Many of you highlighted how
01:04:28 important it is to have this deeper analysis. We're very happy the new World Development
01:04:34 Report is focusing on migrants and refugees, but it really needs to be the apex of a lot
01:04:40 of analytical work, which helps us further the cause of women and girls in displaced situations.
01:04:51 The third takeaway from me is really the importance of the work that we do on livelihoods
01:04:56 and on what we call productive inclusion. So it is work that actually helps include many more women
01:05:03 and girls in employment and earning opportunities, and helps address the constraints that they face
01:05:14 in achieving these earning opportunities, which are a very important source of empowerment.
01:05:21 I think there's much more we can do in this area. It's already a very strong area of focus for us,
01:05:26 but it's something that we can deepen and take further.
01:05:30 My fourth takeaway is really around the point that David and others made on the refugee compact and
01:05:40 our commitments to making sure that refugees and displaced persons have a voice in both policy
01:05:47 discussions and in programming both the design and implementation of programs. This is already a part
01:05:54 of our economic and social framework here at the World Bank. So it's very consistent with what we
01:06:01 already intend to do. But we need to make sure that we do this systematically,
01:06:05 and consultation and inclusion is meaningful. Finally, I want to say that this discussion has
01:06:12 provided us with so many inputs that I think it re-emphasizes the need for constant consultation
01:06:20 and working with all our stakeholders and partners to make sure that we can discharge
01:06:26 our responsibilities in a much stronger way. So I really want to thank you for all your inputs,
01:06:33 which have given us a lot of food for thought and which we intend to take on board as we think
01:06:39 about systemic solutions. So that we can support large-scale programming that contributes to a
01:06:49 stronger global response to the issue of women and girls in displaced
01:06:57 context. So thank you very much for your contributions and your strong participation,
01:07:03 and I really look forward to working with all of you and taking this agenda forward.
01:07:10 Thank you. And goodbye. And I think this is the conclusion of the event, isn't it, Hana?
01:07:15 [Hana Brixi] Thank you very
01:07:18 much to all our panelists. I'm very much looking forward to
01:07:21 continuing the conversation, the research and the collaboration for action. Thank you.
01:07:27 [Paula Gaviria Betancur] Thank you.
01:07:29 [Hana Brixi] Bye.
01:07:30 [Gillian Triggs] Bye everyone.

GDFD Research Program

A series of papers has been published about the Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement by researchers from a range of disciplines from inside and outside the World Bank, with strategic guidance from a Senior Advisory Panel. Read the brief >

Related Links

Browse Our Events

Event Finder

Search past and upcoming events by keyword, by topic or by region.

Search by Speakers

Browse the list of speakers for our events.

Watch the #AccelerateEquality Event Series

Gender Data for Decision Making

Replay

May 23, 2022

Gender Data for Decision Making

Women, Business and the Law 2022

Replay

March 01, 2022

Women, Business and the Law 2022

Women Entrepreneurs Breaking Barriers

Replay

February 10, 2022

Women Entrepreneurs Breaking Barriers

Gender Equality and Development

Replay

January 13, 2022

Gender Equality and Development

Status message

Thank you for requesting an event reminder for email We have just sent you a confirmation.

Error message

It looks as though the e-mail address: email is already registered for reminders for this event.

Error message

Something went wrong