11. Gender considerations
States must ensure the protection of the rights of displaced women, girls and gender-nonconforming people, and should identify and mitigate particular threats to their health, safety, and
well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women, girls and gender non-conforming people experience distinct challenges and risks related
to the COVID-19 pandemic, including exacerbation of existing inequalities. These gender-specific
risks pertain to migrants, refugees, and other displaced persons, particularly those who experience
barriers in accessing essential goods and services and who live in camps, collective shelters, or
settlements. Increased caregiving responsibilities – including care of children and sick relatives –
can limit women’s and girls’ access to information, services, education, and livelihood activities.
Indoor confinement increases the incidence of intimate partner violence and reduces the access of
survivors of gender-based violence to life-saving care and support. In responses to COVID-19,
women, girls and gender non-conforming people must be ensured access to sexual and
reproductive health information, goods, and services, including safe access to abortion care.
(Sources: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women arts. 3,
12; UNHCR, Age, Gender and Diversity Considerations – COVID-19, 21 March 2020; UNHCR,
Gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response during COVID-19, 26 March
2020; WHO, Gender equity in the health workforce: Analysis of 104 countries, March 2019;
Amnesty International, Responses to Covid-19 and States’ Human Rights Obligations:
Preliminary Observations, 12 March 2020.)
12. Marginalized groups
Certain groups among migrant, refugee, and other displaced populations require special attention
in the context of COVID-19, particularly when it comes to protecting the right to health, access to
information, and the prohibition on discrimination. These include older people, persons with
disabilities, and children.
Older people (defined by the U.N. as people over 60) are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and have
a higher fatality rate. Older migrants, refugees, and other displaced persons living in camps,
collective shelters, and settlements will face particular health risks from limited access to health
and hygiene supplies and less ability to socially distance or self-isolate. Realizing their right to
health will require governments to ensure access to health care, regardless of legal status, and
access to the shelter, water, and sanitation facilities they need to maintain their health. Older
migrants in detention, particularly those with chronic health conditions, face particular risks and
their continued detention would be disproportionate.
Persons with disabilities (including physical, mental, intellectual and sensory) within migrant,
refugee, and other displaced communities may not be able to socially distance since they rely on
others for many daily tasks. These vulnerabilities are compounded by challenges in access to
information on COVID-19 and the availability of services especially when they have specific
communication needs. States are required to guarantee the rights to information, health, education,
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