Violence against women in the tsunami-affected areas has escalated, says a report put together by 174 organisations from tsunami-hit countries. The report is based on the experiences of over 7,000 women from India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Puntland (in Somalia), and will be presented at the SAARC Policy Forum on April 1, 2007.Although the governments of tsunami-hit countries have undertaken relief work in the affected areas, the issue of violence against women has not been addressed in the relief policies, the report claims. The key organisations that have compiled the report are Action Aid International, CARE Society, Women’s Development Center and several other NGO’s. The report was handed over on Wednesday to the executive director of SAARC Disaster Management Centre and the National Institute of Disaster Management, PG Dhar Chakrabarti.“A crucial concern emerging from tsunami-affected communities after the disaster was women’s experience of violence against them. While there was considerable relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts taking place, it seemed that there were gaps in intervention for women’s rights,” the report states.Chakrabarti said the Disaster Management Centre would now work in co-ordination with women’s groups in these affected countries.
