Women’s Refugee Commission, ‘Apart From This, We Have No Other Place: How Funding Cuts Are Reshaping Women and Girls Safe Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Camps’, 2026

Women’s Refugee Commission, ‘Apart From This, We Have No Other Place: How Funding Cuts Are Reshaping Women and Girls Safe Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Camps’, 2026

Abstract

Since the start of the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in August 2017, Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS) have become a key intervention to address the numerous protection concerns of Rohingya women and girls. WGSS provide lifesaving gender-based violence (GBV) case management and referrals alongside prevention, psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health, and livelihoods programming for Rohingya women and adolescent girls. However, the humanitarian funding crisis, intensified by the January 2025 pause in US foreign aid, has placed these comprehensive services under growing strain. This research examines how funding cuts have affected the sustainability, accessibility, quality, and effectiveness of WGSS in the Rohingya refugee camps, drawing on the perspectives of both service providers and Rohingya women and girls.