Discovering the Role of Women in Conflict Zones

INTERVIEW WITH LAURA CANALI FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS

Laura Canali is a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) technical advisor for International Medical Corps, covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. International Medical Corps is an organization known worldwide, that works to ‘relieve the suffering of those affected by war, natural disaster and disease; deliver healthcare services that focus on training and help devastated populations return to self-reliance’.[1] Our Junior Editor, Giulia D’Amico, invited Laura to talk about what it means to be a woman in the humanitarian field and share her career journey with us. We think she is an incredible example for all.

Laura has been working as a GBV advisor for seven years. She graduated in International Law from the University of Milan, in her hometown, while volunteering in the headquarters of an Italian NGO called Emergency. She soon realised that she wanted to work for the humanitarian sector and decided to volunteer in many summer camps, such as Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. During her first missions in Tajikistan, Nairobi and Southern Sudan, she mainly worked as administrator. She became involved in GBV programmes during her mission in Northern Uganda, where she stayed for two and a half years. Later, she decided to do a master’s degree in International Human Rights Law and Practice in York, to gain more knowledge on the legal background of humanitarian action. After completing her studies, Laura left for another mission with an international NGO – this time in Liberia as GBV manager and then in South Sudan as GBV coordinator. Today, Laura works for the International Medical Corps as a GBV technical advisor in eight different missions, while also collaborating with other global initiatives.

In the humanitarian field there are different interpretations of what GBV means. Laura’s understanding of the term reflects her organization’s, which mainly refers to violence related to gender discrimination. Indeed, its programs focus on women and girls as the part of the population which is disproportionally affected by gender discrimination in every part of the world, although this does not preclude the engagement with men and boys – particularly with regard to preventive activities. Women and girls are more likely to be exposed to gender-based violence during emergencies, as during these times there are more risks women and girls are facing and more opportunities for the perpetrators. During conflict and displacement, the protection networks – both formal and informal – are destroyed and, as a consequence, there are fewer opportunities to report and receive support. In conflict environments, women and girls face many more obstacles in accessing services. Additionally, in camp settings, they are often isolated, as they do not feel secure walking around the camp. Laura specifically recalls a report on Syrian women refugees displaced in the neighbouring regions which claimed that 1 in 3 women did not feel safe leaving their houses.

In refugee camps, women and girls face a range of risks. For example, they usually have to share facilities – bathrooms and showers – placed on roads which may lack a proper lighting system. In these circumstances, the majority of them do not walk on the streets after sunset, because they would be more likely to be assaulted. In addition to that, when a woman suffers from GBV, she will probably not report it to anyone. Many displaced women and girls live in foreign countries where they do not trust the security agents – but also, they might feel ashamed to report or stigmatized if they do so. All these risks represent additional challenges that effective GBV programmes must consider and address. Indeed, Laura explains why many organizations working in the GBV sector established ‘women and girls safe spaces’. These places guarantee some form of privacy for women and girls and they provide different activities – case-management and individual support, and group activities such as  recreational activities, psychosocial support, life skills training, computer classes and economic empowerment. They also offer awareness sessions about GBV issues: early marriage and its risks, domestic violence, information about reproductive health. The activities strengthen women’s direct engagement in their lives as they are able to empower themselves, while creating their own informational support network. They acquire self-confidence in accessing services and engage in social activities with other women. Laura underlines how these programmes are lifesaving tools for people living in conflictual zones.

Covid-19 has certainly had dramatic consequences in all spheres of people’s lives. The pandemic represents a health emergency but, it has also augmented GBV tremendously. In addition to more frequent and severe cases of domestic violence, there are at the same time more difficulties in accessing help. In many cases, in line with local government’s recommendations and internal procedures, International Medical Corps has had to close women and girls’ safe spaces in recent months due to Covid-19 preventive measures and restrictions. In some others, they remained open only for emergency cases. However, the organization was able to adjust its intervention as it moved some of the activities from in-person to remote provisions. Case-management – where it was not possible for the survivor to meet with the case manager in person – was done by phone. However, this would create difficulties, as the survivors of GBV were usually living with the perpetrators of violence. Indeed, organization staff could provide remote case-management only if and when the survivor was able to talk privately and safely. They also managed to maintain some group activities by using online platforms so that women and girls were able to keep in touch.

Being a woman in humanitarian protection in conflict zones, and in the GBV sector in particular, is not an easy task. On one side, it is an opportunity to have an impact on the intervention. As a woman and a GBV specialist, Laura is able to better understand women and girls’ needs. As a woman working in the humanitarian sector, she had the responsibility of giving a voice to the half of the population that is not heard enough. On the other side, living in a mainly patriarchal society affects every field of work – including the humanitarian one. Indeed, Laura argues that she would like to see more women in high decision-making positions, as the world urges that more women should be in senior management positions and be actively involved in international politics more in general.