In Focus: War in Ukraine is a crisis for women and girls

The war has severely impacted social cohesion, community security, and the resilience of local communities, especially women and girls. Lack of access to social services, including schools and strained community resources, has increased the care burden of local women responsible for caring for children, disabled and elderly family members.

Recent estimates indicate that 54 percent of people in need of help from the ongoing crisis are women. Over 2.3 million refugees from Ukraine – the vast majority of women and children – have neighboring fled to neighboring countries, and others are displaced within the country. These numbers are expected to increase significantly as the offensive continues.

As women continue to bear different and additional burdens of war, they must be represented in all decision-making platforms on de-escalation, conflict prevention, mitigation, and other processes in pursuit of peace and security for the people of Ukraine and beyond.