Supporting Humanitarian, Psychosocial, Legal, and Education Needs of Women in Detention

As the Humanitarian crisis in Yemen enters its fifth year of conflict, the country is on a fast pace towards exacerbating needs in all sectors. Based on the HNO 2019, an estimated 80% of the population which is equal to 24 million Yemenis require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance including 14.4 million who are in acute need higher with a 27% than the last year, while two thirds of all districts in the country are already pre-famine, and one-third face a convergence of multiple acute vulnerabilities, leaving millions in this dramatically escalating situation since 2015 and forcing millions to face risks to their safety and basic rights.

Despite women’s vital roles, they are too often neglected and the most vulnerable sector in conflict zones. These conflicts are concentrated in poor countries emanating from fragile inequality, discrimination and social conflicts.

Women are often the drivers, strong networkers, managers, organizers, caretakers in the community. However, when you talk about disasters at the highest level, the ones who are talking and making the decisions tend to be men. 

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women established its presence in Yemen in 2014 working in close collaboration with the UN system providing coordination and programme support to strengthen the UN response to addressing national priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with UN Women’s strategic vision. UN Women also focuses on supporting women’s effective engagement in the overall humanitarian response with partners and beneficiaries, which is consistent with the Generation Equality: Beijing +25 – Year of UNSCR 1325 for the UNWOMEN (a comprehensive and dynamic set of global norms, policies and standards on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is strengthened and implemented) and  (all women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence) this CFP comes as a response to these critical needs in order to pave the way for a more resilient and empowered women, in detention and after being released to ensure a foster environment where women are reintegrated in their families and communities

Funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding fund, UN Women is currently implementing the project titled “Responding to Humanitarian Conditions in Places of Detention”. The overall goal of the project is to divert cases and improve basic conditions for people in detention (central prisons, rehabilitation centers, prosecution centers, and detention centers), with particular attention to the special needs of women, and to lay the foundation to strengthen resilience of detainees, and strengthen their social ties with families and communities.

The project is designed around 3 outputs:

Output 1: Basic humanitarian conditions are improved in places of detention, with particular attention to the special needs of women and children

Output 2: Rehabilitation and reintegration efforts for detainees are strengthened, with particular attention to the special needs of women and children

Output 3: Appropriate diversion options and alternatives to incarceration are available to women and children.