Recognizing the Feminization of Displacement: A Proposal for a Genderfocused Approach to Local Integration in Ecuador

Resumen

I. IntroductionThis comment seeks to raise awareness about the of displacement, the phenomenon in which women increasingly represent a disproportionate percentage of displaced populations worldwide.1 Over the years, gendered patterns in social phenomenon have gained the attention of governments, policymakers, and stakeholders around the world. The feminization of poverty 2 and the feminization of migration 3 are examples of trends in global statistics that demonstrate the disproportionate burden women bear in the social struggle for equality. The main objective of this comment is to highlight the issue of the of displacement in a context where the norms and policies established to deal with displaced persons are gender-blind4 and urge policymakers to better address this reality.The displacement crisis in South America serves as an especially pronounced example of this growing problem. The ongoing armed conflict in Colombia has displaced record numbers of people, both internally and internationally.5 The conflict has grown so severe that Colombia has joined the ranks of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan as having more than a million people identified as internally displaced at the end of 2010.6 In fact, the conflict has been catalogued as the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere in recent times.7 However, unlike the situations in Iraq or Sudan, the 4.3 million persons of concern8 in Colombia and Ecuador rarely grab newspaper headlines,9 due in part to Ecuador's progressive refugee policies that have more or less created open- borders between the two countries.10However, these otherwise praiseworthy refugee policies have one serious omission that may account for their failure to mitigate the crisis on the ground-there is no mention of gender. This is especially disconcerting considering that the overwhelming majority of the refugee population in Ecuador is comprised of women and children (8 8%),11 with many women as heads-of-households.12 Moreover, given the nature of the conflict, the United Nationals High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) has recognized that the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is an urgent, core protection issue;13 an issue that is likewise absent in Ecuador's refugee policy. These glaring omissions, compounded by recent backward shifts in Ecuador's refugee policy, have severe consequences for the already vulnerable and displaced women in the region that require specifically tailored strategies in order to meet the gender needs of a feminized refugee population.Accordingly, this comment will focus specifically on the displacement crisis at the Colombian-Ecuadorian border, advocating for the inclusion of gender-specific measures in refugee policy, particularly given the widespread existence of SGBV that disproportionately affects women.14 Part II describes the background of the displacement crisis at the border of Colombia from a feminist perspective. Part III reviews Ecuador's refugee policies and the need to integrate SGBV strategies at the country level within refugee policy itself. Part IV presents the proposal of a gender- focused approach to local integration as a means of including gender in Ecuador's refugee policies as well as providing a platform for combating SGBV. Part V concludes that recognizing the of displacement, coupled with specific policies tailored to the gender needs of the refugee population, has the potential to actually improve the conditions surrounding this crisis.II. Gender Discrimination Fuels the Feminization of DisplacementIn order to understand the growing phenomenon of the of displacement, it is important to understand that the factors that drive displacement are inherently tied to the consequences of gender discrimination.15 Therefore, this section presents a feminist critique10 of the 16 displacement crisis at the Colombian-Ecuadorian border. …