Protection concerns are widespread in Nepal, including trafficking, child marriage, gender-based violence, lack of civil documentation and discrimination based on caste, indigenous ethnicity and gender. This report provides a topic-wise snapshot of pre-existing protection concerns prior to the 25 April earthquake as well as an analysis based on the limited information available of the impact of the 25 April and 12 May earthquakes on the protection situation. As this is a crosscutting issue that should be integrated throughout the humanitarian response, this report aims to inform everyone responding to humanitarian needs.
KEY FINDINGS
Main pre-crisis protection concerns
Indigenous ethnic groups and low-caste groups such as Dalits tend to live away from easy-to-access settlements, and are traditionally marginalised.
Trafficking of women and children for sexual or labour exploitation is a long-standing problem.
Nepali society is patriarchal, so gender discrimination is present – and often accepted as the norm – in many aspects of life. Women from marginalised caste and ethnic groups face even greater challenges.
Current risks
Dalits are not members of District Disaster Risk Reduction Committees (DDRCs) in any of the 14 most affected districts, possibly leading to greater neglect of this group’s evacuation and relief needs. Access to assistance for many other marginalised groups is also a concern.
Female representation is lacking on decision-making committees at the community and site level.
Access to relief for people with limited mobility, including the elderly and people with disabilities.
Approximately 24% of the population does not possess a citizenship certificate, which presents a barrier to accessing government relief services and benefits. Women, low-caste, and indigenous ethnic groups in particular, face challenges acquiring citizenship documents.
Widespread damage to WASH infrastructure and displacement of communities has resulted in a lack of adequate segregated sanitation facilities for men, women, and third-gender, increasing the risk of gender-based violence, particularly in spontaneous settlement sites.
Pressure on household resources may lead to adoption of negative coping mechanisms, including GBV and increased alcohol use, and heightened risk of child labour and trafficking.
Access during monsoon is further impeding already limited systematic monitoring of protection issues.
Recommendations for humanitarian response
Mainstream gender, child protection and GBV throughout clusters, particularly in needs assessments, and coordinate with protection cluster to enhance prevention and response to protection issues that arise in various sector activities.
Collect data disaggregated by gender (male, female and, where relevant, third), disability, caste, and age across sectors to ensure needs of vulnerable groups are measurable and addressed at VDC level.
Consult with protection cluster and relevant sub-clusters (GBV and child protection) prior to conducting assessments for assistance with formulating appropriate questions.
Encourage more representation of women, Dalits and indigenous ethnic groups on community-level committees to ensure equitable allocation of relief resources and monitoring of humanitarian response.
Distribute relief equitably for vulnerable groups, based on need with targeted assistance to persons with specific needs. Establish mechanisms for assessing whether distribution is equitable and need-based.
Monitor civil documentation issues impacting relief access, including replacement/issuance of civil documentation where necessary.
Map out district-level government criteria for allocation of relief based on housing and land ownership status and provide assistance to fill gaps exist for those who are landless/lack ownership documents.
Ensure adherence to Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement for communities being evacuated.