Dale Buscher | Columbia University (original) (raw)

Papers by Dale Buscher

Humanitarian Practice Network, Feb 2014

Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be epidemic in situations of conflict, disaster and disp... more Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be epidemic in situations of conflict, disaster and displacement. In spite of the rhetoric, the new language created around GBV, the Security Council resolutions, and the myriad of guidelines, women and girls, and to a lesser extent, men and boys, continue to be raped, abused, and violated in these contexts. Much is known about the facts of GBV and how to respond. It is known, for example, that incidents of GBV escalate, often dramatically, during conflict and while populations are displaced. It is also known that 50% of survivors are under the age of 16; 1 and that women and girls with disabilities are 4 -10 times as likely to be targeted by GBV as those without disabilities. 2 Humanitarian practitioners know how to set up health care responses and, to some extent, legal and psycho-social responses. Far less, however, is known about GBV prevention -how is it operationalized? How to ensure that existing guidance on lighting and separate latrines is implemented? How to hold emergency responders accountable for following the globally agreed to standards? And, how to mitigate the heightened and varied risks women and girls, in particular, face during conflict and displacement?

Forced Migration Review, Dec 2012

International Development Matters, Feb 2008

Refugee Survey Quarterly, 2010

Twenty years ago, refugee women were seldom consulted and their specific needs rarely identified ... more Twenty years ago, refugee women were seldom consulted and their specific needs rarely identified or taken into account. Considerable progress has been made in the interim, although policy developments have far outstripped progress in practice. Over the past twenty years reproductive health services have become part of key global standards and increasingly practice, refugee women are usually individually registered, they generally receive the food rations, and innumerable programmes have been designed and implemented to empower and protect them. Gender-based violence has gone from an invisible issue to multi-faceted prevention and response initiatives. Policy development includes the High Commissioner's Five Commitments to Refugee Women, the rollout of UNHCR's age, gender and diversity mainstreaming initiative, the Executive Committee Conclusion on Women at Risk and the recent UNHCR Handbook on the Protection of Women and Girls. As the humanitarian community has broadened its depth of understanding and learning, new needs and issues have arisen. Issues currently on the international agenda to further protection refugee women include: how to effectively engage men, how to operationalize the prevention of genderbased violence; how to tackle the availability of safe access to cooking fuel in humanitarian settings; and how to effectively and safely economically empower refugee women. This paper will provide a brief overview of progress over the past twenty years and outline current issues that require further attention.

Amsterdam Law Forum, Jun 2011

While the international community is still working out how to identify and best serve them, refug... more While the international community is still working out how to identify and best serve them, refugees and IDPs in urban settings are making their own way -often placing themselves at considerable risk.

Women, Migration, and Conflict, 2009

This chapter focuses on the livelihoods of women displaced by conflict, including those who have ... more This chapter focuses on the livelihoods of women displaced by conflict, including those who have sought refuge outside their countries and those displaced within their own countries. The chapter presents the challenges, needs, and opportunities as well as some creative interventions and knowledge gaps that exist in current thinking and practice. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the humanitarian assistance community. Livelihood interventions in the context of displacement are still in their infancy. Little is known about their longer-term impacts, and there has, historically, been little focus on sustainability. This chapter aims to enhance understanding of the issue in order to improve both livelihood policy and practice.

Refuge , Jun 2012

Increasingly refugees live in urban areas -usually in slums impacted by unemployment, poverty, ov... more Increasingly refugees live in urban areas -usually in slums impacted by unemployment, poverty, over-crowding and inadequate infrastructure. Host governments often restrict refugees' access to the labor market, access that can be further impeded by language barriers, arbitrary fees, and discrimination. UNHCR and its partners are seldom equipped to understand and navigate the complex urban economic environment in order to create opportunities for refugees in these settings. Based on assessments undertaken in 2010 and 2011 in Kampala, New Delhi and Johannesburg, research findings indicate that refugees in urban areas adopt a variety of economic coping strategies, many of which place them at risk, and that new approaches and different partnerships are needed for the design and implementation of economic programs.

Humanitarian Practice Network, Feb 2014

Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be epidemic in situations of conflict, disaster and disp... more Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be epidemic in situations of conflict, disaster and displacement. In spite of the rhetoric, the new language created around GBV, the Security Council resolutions, and the myriad of guidelines, women and girls, and to a lesser extent, men and boys, continue to be raped, abused, and violated in these contexts. Much is known about the facts of GBV and how to respond. It is known, for example, that incidents of GBV escalate, often dramatically, during conflict and while populations are displaced. It is also known that 50% of survivors are under the age of 16; 1 and that women and girls with disabilities are 4 -10 times as likely to be targeted by GBV as those without disabilities. 2 Humanitarian practitioners know how to set up health care responses and, to some extent, legal and psycho-social responses. Far less, however, is known about GBV prevention -how is it operationalized? How to ensure that existing guidance on lighting and separate latrines is implemented? How to hold emergency responders accountable for following the globally agreed to standards? And, how to mitigate the heightened and varied risks women and girls, in particular, face during conflict and displacement?

Forced Migration Review, Dec 2012

International Development Matters, Feb 2008

Refugee Survey Quarterly, 2010

Twenty years ago, refugee women were seldom consulted and their specific needs rarely identified ... more Twenty years ago, refugee women were seldom consulted and their specific needs rarely identified or taken into account. Considerable progress has been made in the interim, although policy developments have far outstripped progress in practice. Over the past twenty years reproductive health services have become part of key global standards and increasingly practice, refugee women are usually individually registered, they generally receive the food rations, and innumerable programmes have been designed and implemented to empower and protect them. Gender-based violence has gone from an invisible issue to multi-faceted prevention and response initiatives. Policy development includes the High Commissioner's Five Commitments to Refugee Women, the rollout of UNHCR's age, gender and diversity mainstreaming initiative, the Executive Committee Conclusion on Women at Risk and the recent UNHCR Handbook on the Protection of Women and Girls. As the humanitarian community has broadened its depth of understanding and learning, new needs and issues have arisen. Issues currently on the international agenda to further protection refugee women include: how to effectively engage men, how to operationalize the prevention of genderbased violence; how to tackle the availability of safe access to cooking fuel in humanitarian settings; and how to effectively and safely economically empower refugee women. This paper will provide a brief overview of progress over the past twenty years and outline current issues that require further attention.

Amsterdam Law Forum, Jun 2011

While the international community is still working out how to identify and best serve them, refug... more While the international community is still working out how to identify and best serve them, refugees and IDPs in urban settings are making their own way -often placing themselves at considerable risk.

Women, Migration, and Conflict, 2009

This chapter focuses on the livelihoods of women displaced by conflict, including those who have ... more This chapter focuses on the livelihoods of women displaced by conflict, including those who have sought refuge outside their countries and those displaced within their own countries. The chapter presents the challenges, needs, and opportunities as well as some creative interventions and knowledge gaps that exist in current thinking and practice. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the humanitarian assistance community. Livelihood interventions in the context of displacement are still in their infancy. Little is known about their longer-term impacts, and there has, historically, been little focus on sustainability. This chapter aims to enhance understanding of the issue in order to improve both livelihood policy and practice.

Refuge , Jun 2012

Increasingly refugees live in urban areas -usually in slums impacted by unemployment, poverty, ov... more Increasingly refugees live in urban areas -usually in slums impacted by unemployment, poverty, over-crowding and inadequate infrastructure. Host governments often restrict refugees' access to the labor market, access that can be further impeded by language barriers, arbitrary fees, and discrimination. UNHCR and its partners are seldom equipped to understand and navigate the complex urban economic environment in order to create opportunities for refugees in these settings. Based on assessments undertaken in 2010 and 2011 in Kampala, New Delhi and Johannesburg, research findings indicate that refugees in urban areas adopt a variety of economic coping strategies, many of which place them at risk, and that new approaches and different partnerships are needed for the design and implementation of economic programs.