Five years ago, the IRC established a gender action plan to create an environment where women are safe and respected. The plan comes from the belief that the IRC must be a gender equitable organization to deliver gender equitable programs in the communities it serves. Led by executive director Preethi Nampoothiri, the IRC in Silver Spring sets the bar for empowering female leaders.

Women and girls’ perspectives on COVID-19 impacts on sexual and reproductive health and safety

. In May, a group of women from the Women’s relief Society from the LDS Church in Wichita came to the IRC where they met with IRC staff, toured our office and were able to learn more about the IRC and the work that is done to help refugees resettling in Wichita. After their meeting they presented the IRC with a stack of cheery and bright colored quilts and baby blankets for refugees resettling in Wichita.

Recognizing the critical need for employment and childcare for new Americans, Marmot Snetsinger co-founded Little Twigs Childcare. Today, Little Twigs employs over 20 refugee women from diverse backgrounds, empowering them with valuable professional skills and creating a unique environment for the children they serve.

This report provides new evidence and builds on previous policy research by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which for years has called for urgent attention to women and girls’ needs and priorities in humanitarian crises. Building from existing frameworks – including the Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies, the Generation Equality Forum, and the Grand Bargain – we call on humanitarian actors to fulfil their commitments and increase the prioritisation of GBV interventions in humanitarian crises.

Millions of girls around the world face discrimination and lack of opportunity. Their voices aren’t always heard or needs considered.

In December 2018, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) completed an assessment in Beni, DRC, with the aim of examining the effects of the EVD outbreak and response on women and girls, and specifically how the outbreak has impacted women and girls’ experience of violence, also considering the pre-existing context of insecurity in which they live.