IRIN Humanitarian News and Analysis: Getting protection of women right in emergencies

As the leaders of the international aid world gathered in London's Lancaster House to discuss the protection of women and girls in emergencies, the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines was on everyone's mind. Women and girls in storm­-hit areas, some the only survivors of their families, are struggling to receive basic aid in a situation of deteriorating security; this, speakers said, is the moment when responders need to be providing protection ­ right from the very start of the emergency.

The meeting, a high­-level event for governments, UN agencies, international NGOs and civil society, was meant to reach an agreement on a "fundamental new approach to protecting girls and women in emergency situations, both man­-made and natural disasters."