Unpacking Gendered Realities in Displacement: The status of Syrian refugee women in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq

The Syria crisis continues to forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of people. This has caused neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq to absorb displaced populations at an extraordinary rate, placing significant pressures on host communities, the local infrastructure, and social services while simultaneously creating conditions conducive to the exploitation of refugee populations. Within this already challenging context, render discrimination and inequality places Syrian refugee women and girls at heightened risk of violence and exploitation, which is again exacerbated by shifting gender roles and conditions in displacement. Within this context, UN Women sought to assess the gendered impact of the Syria crisis, and to look at the status of refugee women and girls in Lebanon, Jordan, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Based on interviews and discussions with female refugees in the three countries, the UN Women reports examine how war and displacement, coupled with gender dynamics have impacted the wellbeing of Syrian female refugees. Despite differences in contexts, similarities emerged. Women’s life in displacement is characterized by economic insecurity, precarious civil status, limited employment opportunities despite a desire to work, challenges in accessing aid, acute isolation and increasing levels of gender-based violence.