Womens Refugee Commission Inc

Migrant rights and justice (mrj): the migrants rights and justice (mrj) program works to ensure fair access to asylum in the u.s. For those fleeing persecution and violence, promotes the use of alternatives to detention especially of asylum-seeking children and families, humane conditions in detention facilities when they are used, and access to legal services for their asylum claims. The mrj program successfully advocated against the family separation policy, for better protections for unaccompanied minors arriving in the u.s., and for release of families when feasible. Wrc, working with partners, assisted in the reunification of thousands of children who had been separated from their families and has drafted a more humane asylum policy for the incoming administration.

Gender and social inclusion: ensuring equal access and opportunity for all requires recognizing that some groups face additional obstacles and barriers. The women's refugee commission promotes the full inclusion of traditionally marginalized groups, such as refugee women, people with disabilities, the lgbtqi community, and adolescent girls, in identifying solutions and designing programs that meet their unique needs and build upon their capacities. Our gender and social inclusion work includes learning directly from refugees from traditionally marginalized groups about their needs and working to advance gender equality.

Advocacy: wrc's advocacy team works to ensure that u.s. And international laws, policies, and practices protect the human rights of women, youth, and lgbtqia+ people who are displaced by conflict and crisis. Wrc engages with u.s. Elected officials and federal government agencies, the united nations refugee agency, and other international actors in geneva, and un bodies in new york, including the united nations security council. Rooted in the principles of resilience and gender equality and supporting the leadership of local actors, the advocacy team works with stakeholders across all sectors to ensure that prevention and responses to forced displacement reflect the needs and priorities of those who are most affected.

Communications: through its communications department, wrc uses traditional media, digital media, events, and strategic communications planning to help advance its program, advocacy, and development goals as well as to advance wrc strategic plan. Communications works cross-departmentally and in partnership with external organizations and displaced persons to foster a continuum of engagement across its key audiences - practitioner, policymaker, donor, media, and npr to elevate wrc's brand and reinforce our expertise in the humanitarian and human rights sectors.

Gender-based violence: around the world, up to six of every ten women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. During war or other humanitarian crises-such as the brutal conflict currently occurring in syria-the risks to women and girls are heightened. With the breakdown of moral and social order that occurs during emergencies, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to physical abuse and exploitation, rape and human trafficking. Perpetrators may be family members, neighbors or others in the community, members of armed groups or, in some instances, humanitarian workers. Even after a crisis abates, gender-based violence (gbv) may continue at high levels as communities struggle to heal and rebuild. Wrc is part of the multi-stakeholder initiative, call to action to address gbv in emergencies. This includes supporting the government lead (canada in 2018 - 2020/ denmark in 2021 -2023), supporting rollout at the country level, analyzing partner commitments to address gaps, and capturing progress against the call to action roadmap indicators. Wrc also leads global efforts on researching sexual violence against displaced men, boys, and lgbtqia+ populations and has put these undeserved populations on the humanitarian agenda through fact-finding research, the development of guidance and resources, and the provision of technical assistance.

Inter-agency working group (iawg): wrc serves as the secretariat for the inter-agency working group on reproductive health in emergencies and leads efforts on family planning, safe access to abortion care, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. Wrc is also leading inter-agency efforts to research and understand how conflict and displacement impact the practice of child marriage to identify the drivers of such and identify programs and services that mitigate risks and reduce the practice of child marriage.

Sexual & reproductive health