Why Women Must Be the Priority in Crisis Response
In crises and conflicts, the most vulnerable often bear the heaviest burdens. Women and girls face heightened risks from climate shocks, food insecurity, sexual violence, abductions, and displacement. The evidence is clear: when aid prioritizes women’s safety, health, and economic participation, entire communities recover faster. This article explains why centering women in crisis response isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a practical strategy with durable benefits for families, communities, and nations.
The Brutal Reality of Gendered Impacts
South Sudan, like many crisis-affected regions, has alarmingly high rates of gender-based violence. During conflicts and displacement, women and girls encounter heightened exposure to violence, limited access to essential services, and greater food insecurity. When humanitarian systems overlook these realities, aid gaps widen—leaving survivors without vital protection, healthcare, or legal support. Recognizing gendered risks is the first step toward effective relief that protects lives and preserves dignity.
Health, Safety, and Protection as Core Pillars
Prioritizing women’s health means ensuring access to maternal care, sexual and reproductive health services, and mental health support. Protection measures—including safe spaces, community watch programs, and legal assistance—are not optional add-ons; they are essential components that reduce violence and exploitation. In settings with limited resources, integrating protection across all relief activities helps prevent harm before it happens and stabilizes communities after shocks.
Economic Empowerment as a Path to Stability
Economic resilience is a key driver of recovery. Programs that support women-owned businesses, cash transfer schemes with inclusive targeting, and skills training tailored to local market needs empower women to sustain their families through crises. When women participate in economic recovery, resources circulate more broadly, children’s education improves, and long-term development gains become attainable even in challenging environments.
Strategic Approaches for Effective Support
To ensure women are at the center of crisis response, humanitarian actors should adopt several strategic practices:
- Inclusive Needs Assessments: Engage women and girls directly in assessments to capture risks, barriers, and priorities often missed by male-led surveys.
- Protection-First Programming: Incorporate safeguarding, gender-based violence risk mitigation, and survivor-centered services into all relief activities.
- Data Disaggregation: Collect and analyze data by gender, age, and disability to tailor interventions and measure impact accurately.
- Coordination Across Sectors: Align health, protection, shelter, and livelihoods programs to support women holistically.
- Community Engagement: Involve male allies and community leaders to shift norms that tolerate violence and discrimination.
Measuring Impact and Accountability
Effectiveness should be judged by outcomes for women and their families. Key indicators include safer access to healthcare, reduced instances of gender-based violence, increased school attendance for girls, and higher participation of women in decision-making bodies within communities. Transparent accountability mechanisms—where communities can report gaps and hold aid providers to account—are essential to maintain trust and ensure resources reach those most in need.
A Call to Action for Donors and Practitioners
Donors, governments, and NGOs must commit to a gender-responsive approach that places women at the center of every response plan. This includes funding contracts that require gender-based violence risk mitigation, funding for women-led initiatives, and long-term investments in education and health services that support girls and young women. By embedding gender equality into crisis relief, we unlock stronger, more resilient societies capable of withstanding future shocks.
Conclusion: A Practical Imperative
There can be no higher priority for our support than protecting and elevating women in crisis contexts. In South Sudan and in crises worldwide, women’s safety, health, and economic participation are not separate goals—they are the indispensable foundation of effective humanitarian relief and sustainable development. When we center women, we strengthen families, empower communities, and accelerate recovery for all.
