Women and girls uprooted by conflict in eastern Chad suffer widespread violence, not least because the government is failing to protect them
DAKAR (AlertNet) - Women and girls uprooted by conflict in eastern Chad suffer widespread and serious violence, not least because the government of the central African country is failing to protect them, says a report by aid group Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
The government has not deployed security forces to protect civilians in that lawless part of country and has not provided health care or psychosocial support for survivors of attacks, including sexual, perpetrated since 2005 by armed bandits, militias, government troops and members of the women's own families, according to the study released this week.
"Their rights are consistently violated not only by perpetrators of violence, but also by a government that does not protect or assist them or provide access to justice," NRC Secretary General Elisabeth Rasmusson said in a statement.
Eastern Chad is home to around 171,000 people who have been driven from their homes by inter-ethnic violence over land and natural resources, attacks by bandits as well as by confrontations between the army and various rebel movements.
Since 2009 most assaults on displaced women and girls in eastern Chad have taken place within camps for internally displaced people (IDPs).
This is partly fuelled by the frustration men in the camps feel at being unable to earn a living and provide for their families, the study said.
"I never saw this kind of violence before in my village. I think it's happening in the camps now because we are so poor," a displaced woman whose husband savagely beat up her daughter for disobeying him told the researchers.
The report recommends helping displaced men develop new skills to be able to find work.
More than 70 international aid groups support the displaced communities but NRC says there are crucial gaps in their assistance. For example, for a number of reasons, doctors from these groups are reluctant to issue medical certificates for victims of sexual violence, which are necessary for proceeding with a legal case.
Moreover, "the lack of implementing decrees for laws that have been passed, taboos surrounding sexual crimes and stigmatisation of women and girls mean that perpetrators are rarely, if ever, reported, let alone brought to justice", the report said.
Years of violence had left eastern Chad bereft of basic state services including a functional legal system.
The United Nations has set up a system of roving courts; however those courts go to areas of displacement only once a year and, in general, IDPs prefer to seek redress in customary courts.
Rights groups have often raised concerns about the customary courts' respect for women's rights.
"Customary court judges should be trained in human rights law," Laura Perez, the NRC Chad analyst, told AlertNet.
The report contains a number of other recommendations to the authorities of Chad, the United Nations, aid agencies and donor governments.
"The failure to protect internally displaced women and girls in Chad represents a huge barrier to their future well-being and to the development of their communities. As international peacekeepers prepare to leave Chad, the need for the government to meet its duties becomes ever more urgent," Rasmusson said.
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