Women's Voices, Women's Needs:
A Rights-Based Approach to Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction

The December 2004 tsunami that devastated coastal communities in nine countries of South and Southeast Asia left women and girls particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence. Within days of the disaster, women's rights organizations in Sri Lanka were receiving reports of sexual assault at temporary shelters for the displaced and even in initial rescue operations. Even though the waters had receded and the international community had mobilized a relief campaign, women were still in immediate danger. Beyond addressing this situation, women's rights organizations wanted to ensure that women had a stake in decisions about how to allocate the massive aid funds flowing into the country—they knew from experience that this was the best way to ensure that the reconstruction process addressed specific challenges faced by women and girls.

Among the groups receiving reports of sexual violence was INFORM, a leading human rights organization based in Colombo. Since 1989, INFORM has monitored and documented rights abuses in war-torn Sri Lanka, advocating for laws and policies that protect human rights and promote peace and social justice, with a special focus on women's human rights. The organization is led by Sunila Abeysekera, a leading activist for women, peace, and human rights who has worked for two decades to focus international attention on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. In 1998, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan awarded her with the UN Human Rights Prize for her work at INFORM.

In the weeks following the tsunami, while groups from across the island and around the globe mobilized to provide immediate relief, INFORM and other organizations set out on a series of fact-finding missions in the southern and eastern parts of the island. Did displaced people living in the temporary camps and shelters (tent villages and other relocation sites) have a say in their day-to-day lives as displaced persons, as well as with regard to decisions being made about their futures? Were there services available for women with special needs, including those who were pregnant or breastfeeding? Was the state taking adequate measure to protect women from sexual violence and hold perpetrators accountable? INFORM's investigation made it clear that the special needs of women and marginalized communities—the elderly, the disabled, the orphaned—were not being adequately addressed. These groups needed immediate attention and advocacy.

In response, several networks of women's groups, including INFORM, floated the idea of establishing a special fund for women affected by the tsunami. After several rounds of discussions, the Coalition for Assisting Tsunami-Affected Women (CATAW) set up the Sri Lankan Women's Fund for Tsunami Relief to ensure that reconstruction and resettlement efforts are conducted with the participation of those affected and with full consideration of women's needs. In Abeysekera's words, "We want to offer practical and material help to particular groups of women, ensure that their security and dignity is guaranteed at all times, and also push for the equal participation of women in decision-making processes." So far, the fund has raised USD$32,000.

Administered by a coalition of women's rights groups, the fund will ensure that relief efforts address the needs of the groups left most marginalized and isolated by the tsunami. Young unmarried women who have lost their families are particularly vulnerable, as there is little social tolerance for unattached, independent women. Widows of fishermen are skilled in sorting, drying, and selling fish, but have few other marketable skills. If relocated inland, they will have no means to earn a living. And for the women who suffered the inconceivable trauma of post-tsunami sexual violence—women whose stories have largely remained untold, despite global attention lately focused on the tsunami—the fund will help them seek redress.

In January 2005, IWHC made an emergency grant to INFORM to conduct field visits, help build the infrastructure of community-based women's groups, and lobby at the national level for public participation in decisions on relocation, housing and livelihood issues.

Further grants will be made directly to INFORM. Click here to make a donation.