Gendered Situation and Assessment Weeks after the mission, the CHR-GeWHRC have released their initial findings in a memo dated 17 July 2017146. Which aims to provide policy recommendations coming from and as expressed by the women and LGBTIs themselves during the mission. The memo outlines two distinct themes: (1) their experiences when they were fleeing the conflict zone; (2) their needs during displacement and while in evacuation centers. Juxtaposing this memo to the structural gendered-assessments – culled by the IDP general, government, and EC mapping cluster teams – provide the basis that IDPs are impacted differently based on their gender. PROTECTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENTS Most of the respondents culled by the gender cluster team when the conflict started were pregnant, have given birth, and/or with a child at least a month old. Most of the families have a minimum of three (3) children and a maximum of eight (8). One respondent recalled their experience while fleeing the conflict zone. CHR: Gaano kahirap magbakwit na maraming anak ang dala? (How hard is it to evacuate bringing a lot of children?) Omaira: Mahirap talaga ma’am pag marami. Napakahirap, hindi madala-dala yung iba mong anak tsaka yung mga gamit mo sa bahay. (It is really hard ma’am, especially when you have a lot of children. It is really hard, you can’t bring all your children and bring our necessities all together.) CHR: Nakadala ka ba ng mga gamit sa bahay, kaldero? plato? (Were you able to bring housewares like pots? Plates?) Omaira: Wala, walang kaldero. Yung anak lang talaga sinigurado namin. (None, No pots. We only secured our children.) CHR: Paano mo nagawa magbitbit ng pito? (How were you able to carry seven children?) Omaira: Kasi naglalakad yung iba, kasi yung iba mga lalake, matatanda na. Yung maliliit lang yung aming inano. (Some of my children are men, old enough to walk on their own. The others are too young, those were the ones that we carry.) CHR: So yung pamasahe sa motor, yung pitong anak mo at asawa mo kasama. Magkano yung binayad nyo? (So how much was your fare, including you, your seven children, and your husband?) Omaira: Sa amin one thousand dahil bakwit daw. Sabi ko ‘ oy, maawa naman kayo sana sa bakwit. (For us, it’s one thousand (Php 1,000), the driver said its “bakwit” fare. I replied to the driver, ‘hey, why can’t you have pity on the “bakwits”.) Omaira’s experience is not isolated. There are mothers who have more than seven children who evacuated during the conflict. Likewise, during the mission, most of the ECs were filled with young children. According to the camp managers and leaders, sometimes the quarrels and misunderstandings within IDPs are caused by children who are not getting along. The trauma, stress, and tightness of the space add physical and psychological burden for Muslim mothers. The imposition and assumption that mothers are the primary carers for their children, as well as the old, were mostly rooted from the social and religious context as a Muslim woman in the Philippines. On top of these, wives are also obligated to provide affection to their husband, especially when they are weak or traumatized. This was evident when the team spoked to the camp managers and leaders of various ECs. They stated that marital 146 See: Appendix C 24