Of the world’s 71 million people displaced from their homes, 80% are women and children. When war and insecurity take hold, women bear the heaviest burden of violence, poverty and inequality. 

Women and girls suffer disproportionately from violent conflict. They suffer not only from the by-products of war, but are also targeted as a strategy of war. Women in warzones – already vulnerable and in search of safety – also face the horrifying risks of gender-based violence and exploitation. Women who seek shelter from the hardships of armed conflict often experience further harassment in refugee camps and other places that, from an outside perspective, should be considered a safe environment.

In times of war, many women are also faced with the main responsibility for care giving in the family, forcing them to become heads of households and to learn new skills and contribute to peacemaking and rebuilding local economies and communities.

Since Russia’s invasion, three million Ukrainian civilians – mainly women and children – have fled the country in search of safety, and almost two million people have been internally displaced. The U.N. said it is now the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II – estimating that up to five million people could flee the country.