Gender and trade

This guide is designed for personnel who provide care related to GBV, so that they will be equipped to provide the necessary legal orientation to women who are victims and to avoid errors and misunderstandings in the legal area. Becoming familiar with their country’s laws will help providers defend the rights of their clients.

Mental health in Emergencies –Mental and Social Aspects of Health of Populations Exposed to Extreme Stressors, summarises the present position of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence on assisting populations exposed to extreme stressors, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, disaster survivors and terrorism-, war- or genocide-exposed populations. WHO recognises that the number of persons exposed to extreme stressors is large and that exposure to extreme stressors is a risk factor for mental health and social problems. Principles and strategies described here are primarily for application in resource-poor countries, where most populations exposed to disasters and war live. The mental health and well-being of humanitarian aid workers also warrant attention, but their needs are not addressed in this document.

The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) is a series of actions needed to respond to the reproductive health needs of populations in the early phase of a refugee situation (which may or may not be an emergency). The MISP is not just kits of equipment and supplies; it is a set of activities that must be implemented in a coordinated manner by appropriately trained staff. It can be implemented without any new needs assessment since documented evidence already justifies its use. The MISP prevents excess neonatal and maternal morbidity and mortality, reduces HIV transmission, prevents and manages the consequences of sexual violence, and includes planning for the provision of comprehensive reproductive health services integrated into the primary health program in place

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (OP-CEDAW) is an international treaty which establishes complaint and inquiry mechanisms for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Parties to the Protocol allow the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to hear complaints from individuals or inquire into "grave or systematic violations" of the Convention.

The present manual, Reproductive health during conflict and displacement: a guide for programme managers, is designed to complement the Inter-agency Field Manual by providing a tool that defines how to develop practical and appropriately-focused reproductive health programmes during each phase of conflict and displacement—pre-conflict, conflict, stabilization and postconflict. The Department of Reproductive Health and Research—in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations and other WHO programmes (Violence and Injury Prevention, Women's Health, and Emergency and Humanitarian Action)—has built upon the technical norms outlined in the Inter-agency field manual to develop this complementary manual. The manual has been field-tested in a variety of refugee settings and is intended for use by national and international programme managers.