Women and Children of Syria's Widow Camps: Hardest to Reach, Most at Risk

This new report investigates the impacts of the Syrian war in some of the hardest-to-reach places. It focuses on the so-called “widow camps”, home to tens of thousands of widows and other single women - including women who are divorced or whose husbands are missing - and their children, living in the 28 accessible camps across northwest Syria (NW Syria). These women and their children face chronic and high levels of violence, including neglect, verbal, physical and sexual abuse, as well as child marriage and child labour. Boys are especially at risk of recruitment into armed groups, and later radicalisation. This is because boys older than 11 are considered male adults by the community and are forced to leave the camps, with no place to go, no employment prospects and no future.