As the devastating death toll in the Syria and Türkiye earthquake continues to rise above 50,000, the Australian government has announced a further injection of $8 million to Türkiye and Syria to assist those most vulnerable and support ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.

In both countries, women and girls are among the most vulnerable, facing heightened risks and dangers and struggling with the consequences of the devastating earthquake.

Countless studies have shown that disasters disproportionately impact women and girls. The risk of violence is exacerbated in high-risk environments, as well as increased levels of existing gender inequalities. Unfortunately, these factors are also heightened by the patriarchal society of both Syria and Türkiye.

In Northwest Syria, ActionAid has been responding with local partner, Violet, and the White Helmets, working in sub-zero temperatures to provide urgent assistance, including access to shelter, warm clothes and food.

The protection of women's rights is a major priority of ActionAid’s emergency response, since it recognises women and girls are worst affected in emergencies but also often the frontline of crisis and disasters as leaders and responders.

In the first few days after the earthquake, ActionAid helped emergency efforts by facilitating the access to vital machinery to support the rescue operations and providing medical and mental health support to women and their families through Mobile Health Units.

Michelle Higelin, Executive Director at ActionAid Australia, said women and girls living in North-West Syria are suffering unimaginable losses caused by the recent earthquakes, which is compounded by 12 years of war.

“We are seeing a mental health crisis unfold as women and children experience trauma on top of trauma,” she explains.

“Women and girls are facing increased vulnerability to sexual exploitation, violence, and abuse, as a result the safety and protection of women and children is our top priority.”

What’s the state of play in Syria?
“Women in Syria are also on the frontlines of this emergency, shouldering the responsibility of keeping their families and communities safe,” Higelin says.

“ActionAid is providing safe spaces for women and girls to prevent and respond to violence as well as offering mental health support, and resourcing women from affected communities to lead response efforts.”

In Syria, women have taken on the responsibility of keeping their families together throughout the civil war, which began over a decade ago. Girls’ rights have gradually diminished throughout this period, suicide rates among young girls have increased, and only one in three girls attend school.

Rates of child sexual abuse has continued to rise in recent years, and sexual violence and trafficking as led to higher rates of child marriage and domestic violence.

In 2015, the female employment rate sat at just 14 percent. And according to a 2020 UN study, the number of female-headed households in the country rose by around 80 per cent – that’s because the war has killed, detained, maimed or exiled thousands of men.

Katherine Ahrens, who is a Program Coordinator at ActionAid’s partner organisation Violet, is still on the ground, assisting women and girls as they face a myriad of challenges.

“The most vulnerable right now are women, children and those without homes, livelihoods, and hope,” she said. “In the next month they will need financial support. We expect prices to increase dramatically for essential items like food. The pressure on families will greatly increase. Sadly, child labour will drastically increase, for example on sites where children gather waste to sell. We are also likely to see child marriage rising as families run out of options.”

What’s the situation for women in Türkiye?
In Türkiye, the statistics aren’t much better. A recent study found that almost 40 per cent of women in the country have suffered physical and/or sexual violence during their lives. Femicide is underreported.

In March 2021, President Recep Erdogan decided to pull out of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – a decision that continues to hold back efforts to tackle inequality.

Since the earthquakes, more than 350,000 surviving pregnant women are in urgent need of healthcare. In Türkiye alone, over 214,000 pregnant women are struggling to manage risks of illness and violence, as 24,000 of them are due to give birth in the next month.

ActionAid continues to scale up food distributions and cash assistance to thousands of families affected by the latest disaster, with a focus on female headed households.

As the relief and emergency efforts continue to pour into the devastated areas of the disaster in Syria and Türkiye, we encourage those wanting to help to donate to a number of women-focused aid organisations, like ActionAid Australia.