Source description last updated: 18 March 2020

In brief: The Women’s Refugee Commission is a US-based non-governmental organisation founded in 1989, aiming to improve the lives and protect the rights of displaced women and children.


Coverage on ecoi.net:

Reports for countries of priorities A-C.

Monthly coverage on ecoi.net.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

The Women’s Refugee Commission was founded as the “Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children” in 1989 and renamed in 2009. (Women's Refugee Commission: Our History, undated)

“The Women's Refugee Commission improves the lives and protects the rights of women, children and youth displaced by conflict and crisis. We research their needs, identify solutions and advocate for programs and policies to strengthen their resilience and drive change in humanitarian practice. [...] Our vision is a world in which refugee and internally displaced women, children and youth:

“We ensure women and girls’ right to sexual and reproductive health care, safety from gender-based violence, and economic and social empowerment.” (Women’s Refugee Commission: Women’s Refugee Commission Brochure, 24 April 2017, p. 2)

Funding:

The total support and revenue for the year 2019 was close to $11.9 million. $4.5 million of those were government grants, $2.8 million corporation and foundation contributions, $1.3 million individual contributions and $1.2 million from the United Nations. (Women’s Refugee Commission: Financial Statements and Supplementary Information (Together with Independent Auditors’ Report); Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, 2 March 2020, p. 4)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: Worldwide.

Thematic focus: Gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, economic and social empowerment, rights and justice, the humanitarian system. (Women’s Refugee Commission: Our Work at a Glance, January 2016)

Methodology:

“We produce groundbreaking reports and advocate on issues that have been ignored such as sexual and reproductive health, family separation across border, disabilities, and the links between livelihoods and violence against women. We publish manuals and tools that guide humanitarian workers as they develop and implement programs. [...] We work to reduce gender-based violence through safe economic opportunities, and develop tools that help gender-based violence practitioners to include women and girls with disabilities in their activities. We co-founded the Girls in Emergencies Collaborative, a group representing several major emergency response organizations to help displaced girls. Created the first-ever youth refugee consultations and youth advisory committee for UNHCR. We are a lead agency partnering with local organizations of women with disabilities from conflict-affected countries, promoting their voice and representation in global forums, such as the World Humanitarian Summit.” (Women’s Refugee Commission: Women’s Refugee Commission Brochure, 24 April 2017, p. 2)

For data collection “Document review [is] undertaken to identify and summarize existing data” and “informant interviews [are] used [...] Key informants [are] purposively selected based on their roles and participation in humanitarian coordination mechanisms. [...] Research participants [are] provided with a participant information statement and consent form [...] For adolescent boys and girls (ages 15-17), parental consent [is] received prior to the focus groups. To assess capacity of adolescents to consent, one member of the research team [meets] with the adolescents and individually asks them to summarize the goal of the research to ensure comprehension and [requests] each to provide an example of refusing consent. [...]” (Women's Refugee Commission: "It's Happening to Our Men as Well": Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Men and Boys, November 2018, p. 57-58)


Languages of publications:

English

Further reading / links:

Women’s Refugee Commission: FY 2019; Annual Report; October 2018 - September 2019, 2019
https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/images/zdocs/2019-Annual-Report-FINAL03042020.pdf

Women’s Refugee Commission: Financial Statements and Supplementary Information (Together with Independent Auditors’ Report); Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, 2 March 2020
https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/component/zdocs/document/download/1895


All links accessed 10 April 2020.