More than 670 million women worldwide are affected by violence

“Take a look at Sudan, for example, where civilians are raped, abducted and killed,” Schloffer gave as an example on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Sunday. “According to international humanitarian law, civilians may not be attacked and any form of sexual violence is prohibited.”

Women are steadfast helpers in all conflicts

Schloffer emphasized that women are at the same time steadfast helpers in all conflicts: “They are committed to refugees, do social work in their communities, are deployed in the emergency services or support other women in setting up their own companies.”

In Ukraine, for example, women are “the ones who do the social visiting work or are part of the emergency response teams who look after people after air raids,” explained the Red Cross representative. Others would start social enterprises to create jobs even during active armed conflict. The Austrian Red Cross supports gender equality projects in the Ukraine, the Middle East and East Africa.

WCC support also in Syria, Afghanistan and African countries

The WCC also supports women in, for example, Syria, Afghanistan and the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In Syria, for example, there is cash and help with setting up small businesses. In Afghanistan it works in partnership with the Danish Red Cross and uses funds from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) to finance training programs, both in terms of craftsmanship and in terms of economic background. And in East African countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda, one of the issues is access to clean water and sanitation, as the burden of obtaining water usually falls on women and girls. There are also projects on gender-based violence, early marriage and female genital mutilation.