Do you know your rights? Protections from gender-based violence amid displacement

UNITED NATIONS, New York – Disasters and wars drive people from their homes and into displacement, insecurity, and skyrocketing risk of abuses like rape, child marriage and trafficking.

Yet in no situation, including crisis or conflict, can acts of gender-based violence be justified. “Human rights do not end when disaster strikes,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. 

Gender-based violence is a violation of human rights. But exactly what protections exist to safeguard women and girls, who make up the overwhelming majority of survivors, and to address its scourge? 

Take our quiz to gauge your knowledge of human rights related to the issue of gender-based violence. Answers are listed at the bottom of the page.

1. Article 1 of the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights declares: “All human beings are born free and equal”. In early drafts, however, this sentence read: “All men are born free and equal”. Who successfully campaigned to change the wording? 
   1. Hansa Mehta (India)
   2. P.C. Chang (China)
   3. Eleanor Roosevelt (United States) 
2. When was violence against women formally recognized as a human rights issue?
   1. The 1930s
   2. The 1950s 
   3. The 1970s
   4. The 1990s
3. Gender-based violence can take the following forms: 
   1. Female genital mutilation
   2. Early and child marriage
   3. Cyberstalking 
   4. 1 & 2
   5. All of the above 
4. Under international law, which human rights are violated in the case of gender-based violence:
   1. The right to life
   2. The right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
   3. The right to privacy
   4. 1 & 2
   5. All of the above
5. All women and girls have inherent human rights – which acts of gender-based violence violate. Which “right” is wrongly worded? 
   1. The right to liberty and security of person
   2. The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health
   3. The right to be free from some forms of discrimination
6. How is displacement linked with gender-based violence? 
   1. It exposes women and girls to heightened risks of intimate partner violence
   2. It drives women and girls into temporary shelters, where sexual harassment can occur 
   3. It deprives families of livelihoods, increasing the likelihood they will turn to harmful coping mechanisms such as early marriage
   4. All of the above
7. Displacement due to disasters has increased amid the global climate crisis, leading to the creation of a new term: the “climate refugee”. True or false: This term is officially recognized under international law, providing climate refugees with specific, delineated rights.
   1. True
   2. False
8. The 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement urges special attention to be paid to health needs of internally displaced women, recommending they be able to access all of these, except: 
   1. Medical care from female providers
   2. Counselling in the aftermath of sexual abuse
   3. Private bathrooms
9. True or false: Around the globe, child marriage has been universally banned by international consensus.
   1. True
   2. False
10.  As a lead agency responding to and working to reduce gender-based violence, UNFPA supports programmes in more than ____ countries and territories.
    1. 100
    2. 120
    3. 150
    4. 180

Answer key:

1 - 1) Hansa Mehta. She was one of only two women on the 1947-48 UN Commission on Human Rights. 

2 - 4) The 1990s. Until that point, many considered gender-based violence a private issue, necessitating no involvement of states.

3 - 5) All of the above.

4 - 5) All of the above.

5 - 3) The correct formulation for this right is the right to be from all forms of discrimination. 

6 - 4) All of the above. 

7 - 2) False. ​​According to UNHCR, the term “climate refugee” is not officially recognized and may be a misnomer, as most people displaced due to climate catastrophes remain in their countries of origin, while refugees are defined as those who have fled across borders. 

8 - 3) Private bathrooms. 

9 - 2) False. According to UNFPA, child marriage is almost universally banned under two international agreements that have been signed or ratified by every country except one. And some states make exceptions for parental consent or under religious or customary law.

10 - 3) 150.