2006 (Executive Committee—57th Session)
(a) Adopts this Conclusion regarding the identification of women and girls at risk, prevention strategies and
individual responses and solutions and recommends that UNHCR include a more detailed elaboration of these
issues in the UNHCR Handbook on the Protection of Women and Girls.
Identification of women and girls at risk
(b) Forced displacement can expose women and girls to a range of factors which may put them at risk of
further violations of their rights. These can be present in the wider protection environment and/or be the result of
the individual's particular circumstances, as outlined below.
(c) Identification and analysis of the presence and severity of these different factors help determine which
women and girls are at heightened risk and enable targeted responses to be devised and implemented.
Identification can present particular challenges because women and girls are often less visible in displaced
populations than men and boys, they may not be or feel able to report protection incidents, particularly if these
occur in the private domain. It is therefore important to ensure an enabling environment which supports
continuing identification and analysis of the situation.
(d) In certain cases, the presence of one factor or incident may alone be sufficient to require an urgent
protection intervention. In others, the presence of a combination of individual and wider protection environment
factors will expose women and girls to heightened risk. In still others, if women and girls have been subjected,
for instance, to SGBV in the area of origin or during flight, this may leave them at heightened risk in the place
of displacement. Continuing assessment is required to monitor threat levels, as they may change over time.
(e) Risk factors in the wider protection environment can arise as a result of and after flight for women and
girls and may include problems resulting from insecurity and armed conflict threatening or exposing them to
SGBV or other forms of violence; inadequate or unequal access to and enjoyment of assistance and services;
lack of access to livelihoods; lack of understanding of women's and men's roles, responsibilities and needs in
relation to reproductive healthcare, and lack of understanding of the consequences of SGBV on women's and
girls' health; the position of women and girls in the displaced or host community which can result in their
marginalization and in discrimination against them; legal systems, which do not adequately uphold the rights of
women and girls under international human rights law, including those relating to property; those informal
justice practices which violate the human rights of women and girls; asylum systems which are not sensitive to
the needs and claims of female asylum-seekers; and mechanisms for delivering protection which do not
adequately monitor and reinforce women's and girls' rights.
(f) These factors related to the wider protection environment may be combined with individual risk factors
which increase the risks for these women and girls. Individual risk factors can be grouped non-exhaustively
under factors relating to their individual civil status or situation in society; their having already been subject to
SGBV and/or their risk of exposure to SGBV or other forms of violence; and their need for specific health
and/or other support services, including in the case of women and girls with disabilities.
(g) Responding more effectively to protection problems faced by women and girls at risk requires a holistic
approach that combines preventive strategies and individual responses and solutions. It involves collaboration
between, and the involvement of, all relevant actors, including men and boys, to enhance understanding and
promote respect for women's and girls' rights.
Preventive strategies
(h) Recommended preventive strategies to be adopted by States, UNHCR, other relevant agencies and
partners may include the identification, assessment and monitoring of risks.
(i) Identification, assessment and monitoring of risks faced by women and girls in the wider protection
environment are to be strengthened by partnerships and actions to:
(i) provide disaggregated data by sex and age; ensure registration on an individual and ongoing basis
for refugees, recognizing the need to protect the confidential nature of personal data, and promote
mechanisms to identify the internally displaced; strengthen protection monitoring of individuals by
working with the community; monitor access to and enjoyment of protection, assistance and
services by women and girls;
(ii) incorporate gender issues into early warning mechanisms, alerts and contingency plans, conduct a
rapid situation analysis at the start of a new emergency and integrate gender-based risk analysis
into inter-agency assessments;
(iii) mobilize women, men, girls and boys of all ages and diverse backgrounds as equal partners
together with all relevant actors in participatory assessments to ensure their protection concerns,
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