The conflict in Syria has created a humanitarian crisis,with more than two million people having fled to neighboring countries in the hope of escaping the violence. Thousands of Syrian refugees continue to enter Lebanon each week,putting pressure on host communities and exhausting their capacity to provide support. The situation has created intense levels of stress for refugees,as they are forced to take on new responsibilities at odds with their traditional gendered social roles.

In order to understand these changing roles,Oxfam and the ABAAD-Resource Center for Gender Equality conducted a gender situation and vulnerability assessment among Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees from Syria now living in Lebanon. The findings and analysis are presented in this report,which aims to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of the gendered impact of the Syrian conflict on refugees now in Lebanon.

The report concludes with detailed recommendations for development and humanitarian practitioners and donor agencies,to help them design and implement gender-sensitive programming that addresses these shifting gender roles and helps to minimize stress and tensions among refugee populations (at individual,household and community levels) and between refugee and host communities.