When the missing person is the household breadwinner, wives and mothers have to find ways to support the family, often facing a life of poverty – a situation that is exacerbated by the low social status and marginalization they suffer in many societies. Women often lack skills, training, or a source of income that would enable them to provide for their dependants.

Sometimes, the ICRC offers material support to women who find themselves in a precarious situation after the disappearance of the male head of the household. It also provides psychosocial support and, according to the needs and possibilities, refers them for individual psychiatric support.