Tutorial eBooks PDF File Download

As this Handbook illustrates, in every country and community in which UNHCR works, women and girls 1 are less likely than men and boys to have access to even the most fundamental of their rights, such as food, health care, shelter or documentation. Girls are less likely than boys to attend school; instead, they spend their time burdened with domestic chores. For these reasons, the protection of women and girls is both a core activity and an organizational priority for UNHCR. While most recently elaborated in UNHCR’s Agenda for Protection, 5 the need to devote attention and resources to help ensure the protection of women has been recognized by UNHCR since 1985. 6 UNHCR’s Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women, issued in 1991, have been an important tool in raising awareness among UNHCR staff and partners about the particular protection problems faced by refugee women, and the possible ways of resolving those problems. Innovative for their time, the Guidelines recognized how assistance affected the protection of women, and emphasized the importance of women participating in decision-making and planning processes.