Gendered insecurity in the Rohingya crisis

Abstract

The purpose of this piece is to analyse the data on pregnant women and new mothers in the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh to determine if it can be used as an indicator of increased conflict related sexual violence and ethnic cleansing. The reported data is problematised in the context of the notorious unreliability of data in emergencies. By comparing the available data with known birth rates among the Rohingya and the broad demographic patterns seen in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide the piece shows there is cause for the concerns of increasing conflict related sexual violence and ethnic cleansing. When taken with qualitative data from international organisations responding to the humanitarian crisis and refugee testimony, the paper reliably concludes the quantitative data can tell a reliable story of conflict related sexual violence and ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State. The paper also highlights the need for improved sex- and age-disaggregated data collection in emergencies.