Two years of war have left women and girls in Gaza increasingly vulnerable to violence, according to new reports from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The agency says prolonged displacement, hunger and the collapse of public services have created what it calls “escalating risks” of gender-based violence across the territory.
One study, drawing on data from 10 aid organizations, found that reported cases of early and forced marriage jumped 123% between the first and second quarters of this year. Most of the girls affected were between 12 and 17 years old. A separate report gathered testimony from 230 women living in overcrowded displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, revealing accounts of rape, coerced marriage and exploitation. Some women described rapists being married to their victims to avoid “shame,” while others recalled fathers marrying off daughters in exchange for food during last year’s famine—one girl, just 14, was traded for two bags of flour.
UNFPA officials say the breakdown of social structures amid mass displacement, extreme poverty and interrupted schooling has left families with few options to protect their daughters, sometimes pushing them toward early marriage as a form of perceived safety. Girls orphaned during the conflict are said to be especially at risk, sometimes married off by relatives seeking to offload financial responsibility.
You can read the BBC’s full investigation, including firsthand testimony from displaced women, at the original report.
Source: Reports of violence against women in Gaza surge, UN agency finds (feeds.bbci.co.uk).
Image: Saharauiak, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).