Transcript Slide 1

Mines Action Canada
March 2010
Women, War & Peace
• March 8 is the
International Day for
Women’s Rights and
International Peace.
• Women and men, girls
and boys are affected
differently during
conflict and postconflict situations.
• Landmines and cluster
bombs impact on
women and men
differently.
www.minesactioncanada.org
Gender and victim-activated weapons
• The 2008 Landmine Monitor
reported 5,426 casualties.
– 71% were civilians
– 48% of civilian casualties
were men (where gender
was known)
– 46% of civilian casualties
were children
• The definition of “victim”
includes direct survivors
(mostly men) and those
(mostly women) living with,
depending on and becoming
caregivers of survivors.
www.minesactioncanada.org
Gender and victim-activated weapons
• Specific livelihood
activities put women at
particular risk
– tending animals (Yemen)
– collecting wood and water
(Democratic Republic of
Congo)
• Women mostly stay at or
near home. Men are
exposed to vast areas of
land as farmers,
deminers or migrant
workers.
www.minesactioncanada.org
Gender and victim-activated weapons
• Due to gender inequalities in
victim assistance, women
receive less immediate
health care, resulting in a
higher fatality rate for
women (43%) than for men
(29%).
• Men and women have
unequal access to land that
has been cleared from
landmines.
• Injured women face greater
risks of stigmatization,
isolation and poverty.
www.minesactioncanada.org
Gender and victim-activated weapons
• There are a number of all-female demining teams in
countries like Sri Lanka, Sudan and Cambodia.
• Women have been leaders in the international movement to
ban landmines: Princess Diana, Jody Williams, ICBL staff.
• MAC’s Youth Leadership, Education and Action Program
trains young women and men from affected and nonaffected countries to be social justice leaders.
www.minesactioncanada.org
Women, War & Peace:
What you can do
• Organize an event (vigil, faith service, dinner party) to
commemorate the impact of war and victim-activated weapons
on women.
• Host an “Others’ Mothers Day” tea as a fundraiser for MAC.
• Tune into MAC’s March webcast of women making a difference in
disarmament!
www.minesactioncanada.org