NEW YORK, March 16, 2015 – Governments overlook the diverse and lasting impacts of enforced disappearance on women, said the International Center for Transitional Justice in a report released today. The report presents lessons from around the world about the need to consider women’s experiences when addressing the crime of enforced disappearance, including through measures like truth commissions, prosecutions, and reparations.
The 40-page report, “The Disappeared and the Invisible: Revealing the Enduring Impact of Enforced Disappearances on Women,” canvasses 31 countries to see how the crime of enforced disappearance affects women, as both the disappeared and the female relatives of the disappeared. It finds that across cultures, women face serious barriers to seeking relief due to discriminatory laws and practices. They also are at higher risk of extortion and exploitation when they search for their loved ones.
“Although women make up the minority of those who are disappeared around the world, in almost every country we studied, from Lebanon to Nepal to Argentina, they make up the majority of those who suffer serious, lasting harm after a disappearance,” said Amrita Kapur, Senior Associate for ICTJ’s Gender Justice program.
“When a loved one goes missing,” explained Kapur, “most often women are on the forefront of the search for truth and vulnerable to further abuses, even as they take on the role of breadwinner while raising children. Women’s stories are not being told, making it harder for governments to respond effectively.”
According to the report, inequalities steeped in tradition often mean that women experience the social, economic, and psychological consequences of disappearances differently than men.
When a male breadwinner is disappeared, severe financial hardship often follows for the family, compounded by the time and money they spend searching for information and tracking down leads. Many wives and mothers must enter the workforce, sometimes for the first time. Without skills or experience, they may take low-paying jobs far from home or risk exploitation, including through sex work.
In some societies like Sri Lanka and Nepal, the wives of the disappeared may be harassed or ostracized by their communities because they are considered neither “wives” nor “widows.” Some may be blamed for their husband’s disappearance or mistreated by their in-laws if they are perceived as an economic burden.
The ambiguous legal status of a missing relative – who is not officially dead or alive – leaves families in a state of limbo. In Lebanon, some wives of the disappeared who were interviewed by ICTJ felt that requesting a death certificate for their husband would be tantamount to “killing” him. Some feared it would absolve the government of its obligation to search for the missing. For others it was a necessary practical step: “I made the decision because I couldn’t register my kids at school, I couldn’t get them identification papers . . .”
Creating a new legal category of “absence due to disappearance,” like in Peru, Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina, has proven to be one solution to the challenge of accessing inheritance and social services for family members. Equally important are compensation programs and state assistance for women to overcome social inequalities in literacy and access to education.
“Women are impacted uniquely by enforced disappearance,” said Nahla Valji, Policy Adviser and Officer in Charge, Peace and Security Section, of UN Women. “Governments must understand this in order to respond to their diverse needs and enduring right to remedy.”
This report is part of a four-year project by ICTJ, funded by UN Women, to examine how enforced disappearance impacts women. Other reports focus on women’s experiences in two countries where the crime has been prevalent, yet remains inadequately addressed by the government: Nepal and Lebanon.
The full report can be downloaded in English here.
Contact
Amrita Kapur Senior Associate, ICTJ’s Gender Justice Program akapur@ictj.org / +1 917-637-3835
Photo Caption: In Raddoluwa, Sri Lanka, a woman pays tribute at a memorial to the disappeared during a commemoration ceremony held annually on October 27. Photo by Vikalpa
