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8th March 2018
03:35pm GMT

"Most of these cases are rape cases, in particular gang rapes by three to five and sometimes eight people have raped one woman. They are in a very vulnerable condition. They have lost their husbands and children, some killed by the military, and they have been raped."Ruskana says that the women have nothing when they arrive,"no food, no clothes, no shelter" and they are also dealing with the trauma of having been raped and displaced.
"Last week I had a patient, she was attacked at her home. The attackers took the woman and her baby by force. Three of them raped the woman and beat her brutally."The woman walked for 15 - 20 days to make it to Bangladesh. Ruskana said she cried after hearing what happened to the woman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkk8YVCRvoE Displaced women have the same needs as other women, they require access to women’s healthcare, contraception, support in the wake of sexual violence and a safe place to deliver their baby. Fouzia Bara is the Medical coordinator at the Urban Day Care Centre in Athens, Greece. Fouzia says that the women who attend her clinic say they particularly require access to contraception as their lives are so unstable,
"Each woman we meet is a mirror to ourselves...we have the same needs for our bodies and our families. All of the women have experienced violence or witnessed violence. Most of them prefer to avoid pregnancies, they do not know what is going to happen to them and are unable to visualise their future." "The women are coming from very difficult backgrounds, they have experienced trauma. Women who come here are not only looking for medical services but are looking for someone who cares about them."
MSF midwife, Jonquil Nicholl with Faith, Victor, their son Victory and newborn baby Newman Ota who was born on board the MV Aquarius in international waters."We're seeing a great deal of sexual violence cases coming through from the women who are on board. This last rescue I had 16 pregnant women, and of those 16 women, seven were cases of sexual violence and four were pregnant because of rape." "Many of the women will have to go through with the pregnancies and have their babies, and we don't know exactly how they feel about that, some do want to keep their babies, some do not. So it's very, very difficult."Médecins Sans Frontières says that global displacement has increased in recent years and that displaced people need a range of supports that can meet them on their way to safety.
"Women and girls in particular need extra medical and psychological care, and protection. For many, these needs will often overlap. Their health and wellbeing can suffer severely if healthcare is denied, as it will be at many critical points of their journey." "Although many displaced women remain invisible, MSF is following their footsteps where possible to provide medical care. We are also equipping the women we meet with the knowledge, tools and choices to manage their health as their uncertain journey continues."
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