Annual report

128
Annual Report 
2022

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VALUES, POWER
AND INCLUSION
Context
Many of the root causes of vulnerability across 
the world have been heightened in recent years 
by the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to 
have serious societal impacts in 2022. Many of 
these impacts were felt in mental and physical 
health and livelihoods, while others were notice-
able in the rise of disinformation and distrust 
within and between communities, 
and of gov-
ernments and media
.
The pandemic also worsened several key 
protection risks that were already high among 
the IFRC’s priorities. Sexual and gender-based 
violence was considered its own “pandemic”, 
affecting more women than COVID-19, while 
trafficking in persons continued to rise.
Disasters and crises, conflict, and socio-economic 
vulnerabilities are placing people at risk every 
day, leading to ever greater need for strong sys-
tems of protection and safeguarding. These risks 
have also shown the urgent need to design sys-
tems and services with the active involvement of 
marginalized groups such as elders, people with 
disabilities, people living with extreme poverty, 
and people who face linguistic or other barriers 
to community life.
In Africa, the frequency and severity of drought 
has eroded resources and families are taking 
desperate measures to survive. Reports of 
sexual violence in drought-affected areas are 
also rising as women and girls are having to 
walk longer distances and compete with other 
communities to access water and other basic 
resources. In addition, the number of children 
in the Horn of Africa who are out of school 
has remained disturbingly high at 15 million 
(pre-drought).
In the Americas, high levels of inequality driven 
by gender, racial/ethnic and territorial inequities, 
which influence gaps in income levels and access 
to essential services. Gender-based violence in 
the Andean region continues to affect millions 
of women and undermine their freedom and 
autonomy. In Colombia, 24.1 per cent of women 
have experienced discrimination or have been 
treated unfairly because they are Venezuelan 
refugees. Of these, 58.8 per cent stated that 
they have suffered violence in the street.
In Asia Pacific, sexual and gender-based violence 
remains a prevailing and urgent public health, 
humanitarian, economic and public policy con-
cern in the region.
Across the Europe region, domestic violence 
has dramatically increased in the past years. 
Protection risks are still rising for migrants and 
displaced people. Likewise, the crisis in Ukraine 
is having devastating and disproportionate