One of the main challenges is responding in a gender-sensitive manner to these crises, be they complex emergencies or natural disasters. The IASC Policy Statement on Gender is a step forward in recognising that humanitarian assistance can only be fully effective if it is gender-sensitive. While both men and women are affected by conflict, crisis situations have a differentiated impact on them. Conflict and war are not gender neutral. Thus, eighty percent of the internally displaced persons and refugees around the world are women and children.
Women are in flight, adapting to life in camps, or are directly caught up in the midst of conflict.
In many cases, women and teenage girls in conflict zones are the sole providers and protectors for their families, since most men have either been killed or are away on combat duty. This situation leads to a shift in gender roles with a dramatic increase in the number of women heads of households. Civil and political rights, such as the right to life and the right to physical integrity are at risk both for men and women during times of crisis. Conflict, however, increases women's vulnerability to sexual violence and rape. Levels of domestic violence and other forms of violence are exacerbated, putting women in fear for their personal safety and integrity.