A girl displaced by Colombian violence stands during a sunset in her neighborhood in Barranquilla, on the country's Caribbean coast. REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez

BOGOTA (AlertNet) - The Colombian government is failing to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to thousands of displaced women and girls, many of whom are victims of sexual violence and abuse, aid agency Refugees International said in a report.

www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/59877/2009/10/17-115843-1.htm
by Anastasia Moloney

Colombia's constitutional court ruled last year that the government was not fulfilling its legal obligations to provide health care, education, housing, job opportunities and training for displaced women and their families.

Despite that landmark decision, little progress has been made, the agency found.

"The level of government response has been so far very disappointing," said Melanie Teff, an advocate at Refugees International, who recently made a three-week fact-finding trip to Colombia.

"It is time for the government of Colombia to prioritise the implementation of the court orders," said the report, published on Monday by the Washington-based organisation.

Women and children bear the brunt of Colombia's displacement crisis. They account for around 80 percent of the country's estimated 3.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and nearly half of displaced households are headed by women.

But government aid to IDPs is not targeting women, the report concluded.

"Significant steps are still required to ensure that the humanitarian response takes the specific needs of women into account," the report concluded.

One in ten Colombians, around 250,000 people every year, are uprooted because of violence from Colombia's armed conflict, according to Refugees International.

Civilians flee their homes to escape crossfire between guerrilla groups fighting against government troops for territorial control in some rural and jungle areas of Colombia. The threat of armed groups seizing children for use as soldiers is another leading cause of displacement.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS A TACTIC
Sexual violence, including rape, is also forcing women and children to leave their homes, and is being used as a strategy in Colombia's decades-long conflict.

"Armed groups are also using sexual violence and forced recruitment as tactics in the conflict," said the report.

"Threats of sexual violence are a major factor leading families with adolescent girls to flee."

In a 2007 study across four cities conducted by the Colombian Ombudsman Office - the national agency charged with overseeing civil and human rights - 18 percent of IDP women cited sexual violence as a direct cause of displacement.

Colombian women's rights groups have presented 183 cases of sexual violence against IDP women to the country's constitutional court. As a result, the court ordered the government to investigate the alleged cases of sexual violence.

But one year on from the court ruling, no-one has been brought to justice, Refugees International said.

The number of sexual abuse victims among IDP women is also likely to be higher than official figures show.

"Sexual violence as a cause of displacement is under-reported, as women are ashamed to report incidents when attempting to register as displaced," the report said. "Survivors and witnesses have no faith that they will receive protection."

All armed groups in Colombia's conflict, including leftist guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), right-wing paramilitaries and government forces have been known to carry out acts of sexual violence.

"Every side of the conflict is taking part in sexual abuse. We did hear cases of rape by government soldiers," said Teff.

Refugees International said there was an 'urgent need' to improve protection programmes and provide psychological support for survivors of sexual violence.

The aid agency urged the United States, a key ally and billion-dollar donor to Colombia, to put pressure on the Colombian government to implement the court ruling and address impunity for violence against women.

"The U.S. government should take the opportunity of its close relationship with its Colombian counterpart to strongly encourage full compliance and provide help and resources to facilitate that task," the report said.

"Implementation of this court order would represent a major step forward in defending the rights of displaced women," it concluded.