The impact of violence and trauma on women living in a conflict zone leads to avariety of physical and social problems. During conflicts, women are more exposed to insecurity because they are pre-occupied with the children and cannot run away to safety. Conflict destroys the safe environment provided by a houseand a family, leads to inadequate nutrition, education and unemployment.
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The women of Jammu & Kashmir in general and those of the valley of Kashmir in particular have been going through these traumatic conditions for the last more than two decades of conflict. The impact is huge and the society in Kashmir isscattered, leaving even children either orphaned or as household heads.
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Stress, trauma, depression, spontaneous abortions and miscarriages among women are common. The conflict has created a situation of tremendous fear anduncertainty in the lives of women in Kashmir. Another consequence of conflict has been the increasing distrust even amongst family members and growing domestic violence.
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Rape and sexual violence as weapon of war

Rape and sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war in Kashmir. In a study conducted in Kashmir by
Medicins Sans Frontierers in 2006 says, “11.6% of interviewees reported that they had been victims of sexual violence since 1989 and almost two-thirds of the people interviewed (63.9%) had heard about cases of rape, while one in seven had witnessed rape. Like any other armed conflict situation, the continuous violent situation prevalent in Kashmir since 1989 has hit the Kashmiri women in every aspect, every day due to the ongoing-armed conflict women continue to suffer. She is a mother grieving for her missing or dead sons, awidow or a half widow fi ghting for her existence and the bringing up her childrenand a refugee to find shelter once displaced from her land”.