Across the globe, undeclared wars and internal armed conflicts have reached an unprecedented number. There have been more than 250 major wars since the end of World War II, resulting in over 23 million casualties. In today’s wars, there are fewer distinctions between combatants and civilians. Ninety percent of casualties are civilians, 75 percent of whom are women and children; a century ago, 90 percent of war casualties were male soldiers. While war exacts a high toll on all members of affected communities, the full impact of armed conflict on women has been historically neglected.

Although women play multiple roles during and after conflict, men and women often have different experiences in the conflict and post-conflict environment. Women rarely have the same access as men to economic, political and educational resources yet often become responsible for supporting a household. Women also bear the additional burden of physical and psychological trauma and social stigma that result from the rape and sexual violence that are frequently used as weapons of war.

Women for Women International supports socially excluded women emerging from war and community violence through a multi-layered core program of direct aid and sponsorship, rights-based education and economic development. Underlying all program activities is the goal of helping women advance from being victims to attaining stability as survivors with the skills to become active members of their communities. Women for Women International offers women survivors of war both the tools and opportunities to “see what they can do.”