Final Evaluation: We Have Rights: Protecting IDP and Minority Women and Girls from SGBV in Southwest Somalia and Somaliland (Somalia)

Location: Southwest Somalia and Somaliland

Grantee partner: The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)

Grant period: August 2022 – July 2025

Grant amount: $1,000,000

Authors/editors: Odimbe David Bwire, Jimale Mohamoud Gulleid, Abdillahi Suge, Bodmando Consulting Group

Evaluation year: 2025

Summary

In Southwest Somalia and Somaliland, The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) implemented a three-year initiative to ensure displaced and minority women and girls have improved access to safe, survivor-centered health services and strengthened legal frameworks for sexual violence accountability between August 2022 and July 2025. The initiative combined direct support with systemic advocacy; training legal actors, establishing referral pathways, building coalitions, and producing research that informed national and regional discourse.

The evaluation finds the initiative highly relevant and impactful despite contextual challenges. It delivered tangible improvements in service adequacy, strengthened solidarity among women’s rights groups, and shifted harmful norms through community dialogues and campaigns. Advocacy platforms elevated Somali women’s voices internationally, while local protection structures now operate independently, laying foundations for sustainable change.

Key findings

• Ratings for survivor-centered services rose from 34.7% to 50.9% rating them as “very adequate”, driven by referral directories and strengthened coordination among providers.
• Acceptance of marital rape dropped from 71.8% to 16.1%, and support for Female Genital Mutilation declined from 68% to 47.1%, reflecting significant progress toward shifting harmful norms.
• Two coalitions established, engaging 50 women’s organizations, and community protection groups became self-organized, sustaining monthly case discussions and referrals.
• SIHA’s research ‘Silenced Suffering’ and legal briefing paper on Sexual Offenses filled critical gaps in sexual violence discourse and were presented at national and international forums, amplifying Somali women’s voices and shaping advocacy agendas.

“When girls have knowledge and small opportunities, they can protect themselves. We tell them that staying silent only helps those who hurt us.” - Internally displaced woman survivor turned volunteer, Banaadir, case study