Female deaths in tsunami far outnumber males: Oxfam
Female deaths in tsunami far outnumber males: Oxfam
Achmad Sukarsono, Reuters/Banda Aceh, Aceh
The Asian tsunami that devastated countries fringing the Indian
Ocean on Dec. 26 may have killed up to four times as many women
as men, the international aid group Oxfam says.
In Indonesia's Aceh province where the catastrophe left more
than 220,000 killed or missing, Oxfam surveyed eight tsunami-
affected villages and found surviving males far outnumbered
females, according to a report released on Saturday.
Findings were similar in India and Sri Lanka.
The worst case found in Aceh was Kuala Cangkoy village, where
for every male killed, four females perished.
The report suggests that women were less able to survive
because they had to take care of their children during the
ordeal, and in some cases lacked swimming and climbing skills.
"In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of
those killed were women. This disproportionate impact will lead
to problems for years to come," Becky Buell, Oxfam's policy
director, was quoted as saying.
"We are already hearing about rapes, harassment and forced
early marriages. We all need to wake up to this issue and ensure
the protection, inclusion and empowerment of the women that have
survived," she said.
Most camps for tsunami survivors in Aceh lack facilities
segregated by sex. Men and women from different families often
sleep in the same tent and use the same toilets, many of them
roofless or scantily covered.
High on the list of fears women would face in the future due
to this phenomenon, according to Oxfam, is reproductive freedom.
"Surviving women may also be encouraged to have more children
and space their children less, to replace those lost by the
community," Oxfam said.
Other concerns are that women survivors will see their
workload increase as they care for extended families and that
they will be more vulnerable to harassment, sexual abuse and
domestic violence.
The Indonesian government has no comprehensive statistics of
the gender breakdown of those who have perished or are missing.
"This must hamper the current relief efforts, as well as
preventing the understanding of the long-term consequences of the
situation," Oxfam contended.
The report said that other tsunami-hit nations such as Sri
Lanka also face the same phenomenon and many of its entailing
consequences but with some variations.
In staunchly Muslim Aceh, for example, alcohol intoxication is
not an issue, but in Sri Lanka it is a key factor.
Alcohol abuse, a pre-existing problem in the Indian Ocean
island country, may increase the risk of women being abused by
spouses or other male relatives in displacement camps and
temporary housing, Oxfam says.
In conclusion, Oxfam insisted that provision of relief aid and
long-term policies must be based on awareness of current and
emergent patterns of family and household formation, and
protecting women from sexual violence and exploitation must be a
priority.
Indonesia, which has said it would begin curbing the presence
of international aid agencies after Saturday, has never directly
addressed women's issues connected to the tsunami relief efforts.