There is no doubt that war and conflict have the effect of straining communities which already struggle to support women's health. Underdeveloped health care systems are at the core of survival for many people in conflict zones. But what does this mean when we think of reproductive health? Where sexual violence in war and conflict is inevitable, where do victims receive support and treatment? What is the aftermath?.
Women's bodies are at the heart of conflicts, they are used as a form of population control, genocide, to ethnically cleanse and as a weapon of war. In any situations, rebel groups will capitalize on women's bodies through forced marriages and pregnancies. Although this is happening all around the world, most common cases are seen in Nigeria where Boko Haram had forcibly married and raped women and girls. This tactic was used by him to control the population and in turn the Nigerian Military enforced abortions on the women that were released by the armed group. In this situation the woman's body, the pregnancy, is used as a mere tactic of control by those involved in the conflicts.
The UN reports in 2003, following the restriction of humanitarian efforts, attacks on health centers in Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and in the State of Palestine. This limited access to life-saving services, including sexual and reproductive health care. This was accompanied with threats to victims by armed actors towards both victims and health workers.
Many women are forced to endure the pregnancies whilst others must resort to dangerous abortions. Both of which damage a large part of society. And for those women who simply chose to become pregnant and start families of their own, they suffer the same consequences with the collapse of healthcare support.
In Palestine we see that 50,000 women are enduring a lack of resources with many hospitals and health centers being bombed and destroyed. leaving many mothers with no place to give birth in a healthy manner and with no access to OBGYN support. This is causing a rise in maternal deaths, and miscarriages, as the healthcare system in Gaza is close to collapsing following relentless attacks by Israeli forces. According to the report by UNFPA, 84 percent of healthcare facilities have been destroyed, leaving only 17 out of 36 hospitals partially functioning.
Regardless of how these pregnancies are conceived, mothers in conflict zones face the ultimate battle as they try to save their bodies and babies with little to no support.
The majority of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity could be prevented if women were healthy when they became pregnant and had access to basic medical care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Meaning that many women who do choose to carry out their pregnancies by choice, are already at a risk due to their environment.
Along with this is the spread of deadly STDS by perpetrators which leave victims helpless due to the lack of healthcare support. In recent cases we see that the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2014, has heightened HIV cases in some parts of Ukraine by more than 15%.
One of the main infrastructures that are destroyed during conflict are hospitals and other healthcare providers. During times of conflict where injuries and deaths are high, no one is thinking about those who are suffering from the damages of sexual violence and rape, no one considers the effects of forced pregnancies and dangerous abortion. The effects of STDs, the mental trauma, the physical challenges. The complications of childbirth and the support needed for healthy pregnancies and deliveries. All of which these women suffer with in silence.
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