In focus: World Refugee Day
- IHRC NEWSROOM
- Jun 20, 2019
- 2 min read
Photo: UN Women/Christopher Herwig
There are 25.4 million refugees around the world today, and nearly half are women and girls. On 20 June, World Refugee Day, we are honouring the resilience and determination of refugees worldwide.
As women and girls are displaced, many protections and essential services break down, leaving them vulnerable to specific risks. For instance, they face heightened discrimination and violence at a time when support services are lacking and their burden of care work at home, such as providing food and water, and caring for the sick and the old, increase.
UN Women is working with refugee populations to provide long-term solutions that protect women’s and girls’ rights, provide opportunities for growth and employment, and maintain their dignity.
In Bangladesh, a Rohingya women’s group contributes to camp management meetings to ensure the needs of women and girls are considered in decision-making. In Jordan, Syrian refugee women participate in cash-for-work programmes and start businesses within camp settings. And in Cameroon, UN Women helps refugee women get new skills and stand on their own feet.
On World Refugee Day share these stories of resilience and join UNHCR’s #StepWithRefugees movement by covering one billion miles in 12 months, the same number of miles that refugees worldwide travel each year to reach the nearest point of safety.
Photo essay: Displacement and resilience—Five women, five stories
Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown
Join us for a journey into the Far North Region of Cameroon to meet five women who have traversed immense tragedies and emerged as resilient leaders, survivors and entrepreneurs. Read more►
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Video: A Syrian refugee in Lebanon
On World Refugee Day, step into the world of urban refugees, and follow one family as they navigate their new reality after a harrowing flight from Syria.
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