Protecting Reproductive Rights in Humanitarian Crises

Our Issues / Humanitarian Settings

Risks like sexual violence, human trafficking, and forced marriages increase during conflict and humanitarian emergencies, while access to reproductive health information and services is too often cut off or otherwise unavailable. These abuses, paired with a lack of access to information and services, can lead to unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, higher maternal mortality, and human rights violations.

Lack of reproductive health information and services—including obstetric, prenatal, and postnatal care; modern contraceptives including emergency contraception; and safe abortion and post-abortion care—further harms the health of women and girls in crisis settings.

Crisis settings expose gaps in essential care

Through legal action, advocacy, cross-movement collaboration, and research, the Center works to ensure that governments respect, protect and fulfill sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and are held accountable if they do not. Humanitarian responders also provide rights-based sexual and reproductive health services so that women and girls can access their reproductive health rights and seek justice when those rights are violated.