Women and children

The term women and children is one that usually denotes special consideration for those members of a community or society, especially in times of war, disaster or in relation to human rights.

Many public institutions are restricted to this group, hospitals and social services :
;Hospitals:Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide
:Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital
:Vanivilas Women and childrens hospital
In Western Australia, the Women's and Children's Health Service is composed of Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women Other institutions specifically catering to women and children include :
;Prisons:Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre
:Stara Gradiška concentration camp
It can also refer to past or present exclusion from clubs or the armed services. Women and children have often been considered 'innocents' in times of war or disaster. The cry women and children first was evident at maritime disasters such as the Titanic. Children have often been seen as within the domain of women, a social and political sphere separate from that of men. Women in the Victorian era were ascribed this role in many of the polices of the day, the suffragist movement also sought to extend the rights of children.
Attitudes to women and children as an excluded group or social class have been subject to change and scrutiny during the 20th century.

Feminists and human rights activists have sought to protect the rights of both women and children, this often led to the formation of committees and institutions politically active and internationally based - especially during the early twentieth century. Notions of gender role and its subsequent demise have led to a convergence of the sphere of men and 'women and children'. The clubs and societies that had, or still, remained exclusive were to be mirrored by the formation of women's groups. By processes of default, or through the conservative nature of these groups, children's rights or welfare was within their scope.
* Women's Commission For Refugee Women and Children
* Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children
* Women's Service Guilds (WSG)
Parent organisations, such as the WSG, were to establish of societies and community groups that included, or were maintained for, children.
Education centres have sometimes been created, such as the Afghan Institute of Learning founded by Sakena Yacoobi in Peshawar.
Legislation has also been enacted with regard to women and children. The WIC Program of the United States government is specifically designed to address the needs of low income women and their children. Others include programs for the refuge or housing of women and children in circumstances of domestic violence, such as the Sanctuary for Families in New York City.

Most religious groups give differing rules for the women and children of their community; exclusion from part or all of the central practices is still evident in many religious groups today.

The phrase has been used in public and broadcast media to elicit a sympathetic response.
* Women and Children Die First (Metalcore album)

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