Grantees, 20th cycle (2016)
In 2016, the UN Trust Fund received 1,792 applications for funding from 117 countries and territories. After a rigorous evaluation and selection process, 36 organizations were selected by the UN Trust Fund’s Global Programme Advisory Committee for inclusion in the 2016 cohort of grantees for a total of US $13 million in funding, including five organizations within this cycle’s new special thematic window addressing violence against women and girls in the context of the refugee crisis.
Africa (6) | Americas and the Caribbean (5) | Arab States (2)
Asia and the Pacific (5) | Europe and Central Asia (2) | Special window addressing violence against women in the context of the current refugee crisis (5) | Special funding window dedicated to small organizations addressing violence against women and girls (11)
Africa
Cameroon
LUKMEF - Cameroon
Project title: Building Community Level Agenda to End Gender Based Violence in Cameroon
Description: The criminalization of sex workers and LGBT people and the discrimination faced by survivors limit disclosure of violence against women and girls (VAW/G) in Cameroon. Although there is a National Action Plan to end violence against women, accessible quality services for survivors are lacking.
The project aims to improve the systems and provision of national multisectoral services for women and girl survivors, as well as those at risk. This will be achieved by a multi-layered strategy which includes reaching project stakeholders through mobile technology, developing a minimum package of response services and standard operating protocols to support the development of effective quality services, strengthening the capacity of service providers, building a citizen driver alert and referral system, providing survivors and those at risk with information about available services, building the capacity of other sectors of society and producing an annual shadow report on VAW/G in Cameroon.
The project will operate in six regions of Cameroon that have been selected based on high levels of violence including child trafficking, child sexual exploitation and forced and early marriage. The East region has been selected as it has received high numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons forced to flee their homes because of the conflict in the Central African Republic. Primary beneficiaries include refugees, women living with HIV/AIDS, survivors of VAW/G and LBT people.
Kenya
Trócaire
Project title: Preventing and responding to VAW/G in Nakuru and Nairobi Counties, Kenya through fostering women’s leadership and opportunities
Description: Kenya has high levels of gender inequality and the fourth highest HIV rate in the world, with women disproportionally affected. Women and girls in Nakuru Town in mid-western Kenya experience high levels of violence, the most prevalent forms being child neglect and abuse, sexual violence in the community, domestic violence and violence perpetrated by armed groups. Drivers of violence include unemployment, poverty, lawlessness and politics.
This project aims to prevent violence against women and adolescent girls in eight informal settlements in Nakuru by addressing cyclical, structural, social and material barriers which undermine their safety and empowerment. An integrated approach will aim to empower young women and girls while also addressing structural, social, material and individual factors that perpetuate violence against women including discriminatory and institutional frameworks and harmful social and gender norms.
The project goal is that adolescent girls and young women in eight informal settlements in Nakuru Town will experience reduced levels of VAW/G. This will be achieved through empowerment activities with adolescent girls and young women including training on life-skills foundational rights, economic and vocational skills and business incubation support; the fostering of community-level gender transformative social behavioural change via community engagement and sensitization using the SASA! Faith methodology; the training of frontline services providers; and lobbying government at county and national levels to develop and implement laws, policies and practices.
Madagascar
ECPAT FRANCE
Project title: Ranavalona Project: prevention, care and access to justice for girl survivors of sexual exploitation in Madagascar
Description: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children (CSEC) has been exacerbated in Madagascar by economic and political crises, with an aggravated impact on women and girls. Common forms of CSEC include minors being coerced into sex work, tourism-related sexual exploitation, trafficking and cyber pornography. While the Madagascan Government has put in place a range of legislation to address the sexual exploitation of girls, there is not yet a national action plan nor institutions which are strong enough to oversee implementation of existing laws.
The project will operate in two inland cities and six coastal cities and aims to reduce economic and social inequalities between men and women, reduce the demand for sex work, offer economic empowerment opportunities and care for survivors, strengthen communities in their resistance to child sexual exploitation, mobilize communities (including men and boys) and promote gender equality. Primary aims are the prevention of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls and providing support and increased access to justice to survivors. This will be achieved by carrying out sensitization activities, school-based training for boys and girls and direct service provision.
Malawi
International Association of Women Judges
Project title: Women Judges Lead the Fight to Demand Justice and Accountability for Sexual Violence Survivors in Malawi
Description: Survivors of sexual violence in Malawi face a number of barriers to accessing justice including discrimination, harmful gender stereotypes, misinterpretation of laws, lack of expertise among legal professionals, bad case management and a lack of awareness of women’s rights and international law. Survivors seeking redress are often met with indifference, hostility or institutional barriers, which are compounded by a lack of cooperation between key stakeholders within the justice system.
The project will operate in four judicial divisions in Malawi and aims to: 1) Enhance survivor-centred response and prevention measures; 2) Enhance implementation of national and international law; 3) Strengthen provision of justice sector services; and 4) Ensure women are better protected and receive better services. This will be achieved through a multisectoral approach which builds the capacity of key stakeholders to provide services and implement national and international laws effectively through the creation of a referrals pathway for survivors seeking justice and through enhanced collaboration between key stakeholders in the justice sector to increase coordination.
Project beneficiaries will include women, girls and boys from rural and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds; women, girls and boys affected by HIV/AIDS; potential victims of sexual exploitation; and women in refugee camps.
Mali
AMSOPT
Project title: Protecting the next generation
Description: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and early marriage are widely practiced in Mali and the region of Kayes has the highest rates of FGM/C and early marriage in the country. National policies and legislation are in place to address FGM/C and early marriage, though traditional social practices and lack of information mean that both continue to take place.
The proposal focuses on young people and especially girls at risk from early marriage and FGM/C (adolescents and youth aged 10-24) and Indigenous communities in Kaye. The project aims to change social norms through outreach and community-based communication support, and medical and psychosocial services for survivors. Activities will include engagement with target communities to foster dialogue and increase knowledge of women’s rights though radio broadcasts, intergenerational discussions, and sports events. Key stakeholders such as policy makers and religious leaders will be engaged and teachers will be trained on FGM/C and early marriage so that they are able to impart information to children in school. A pilot project will be developed which will then be replicated in other areas.
Sierra Leone
Muloma Women’s Development Association
Project title: Engaging Men Through Accountable Practice (EMAP), To Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls
Description: Levels of violence against women in Sierra Leone remain high following the civil war and the Ebola crisis. Although the legal framework on ending VAW/G has been strengthened in recent years, enforcement remains weak. The reasons for this including under-resourcing of the justice sector and a lack of awareness among women of these laws. As a result community leaders often mediate VAW/G cases in rural areas. Social norms, traditions, culture and belief systems exist which see women as submissive to their husbands and male relatives and lacking voice and agency.
The project will use the Engaging Men through Accountable Practices (EMAP) curriculum, a gender transformative intervention that encourages men to prevent violence against women in post-conflict countries. EMAP was developed by the International Rescue Committee to change the attitudes of men and boys in 24 rural communities in three districts of eastern Sierra Leone. It will engage traditional community leaders who mediate cases of gender-based violence and carry out public discussions on the issue. Activities to achieve these aims will include single-sex discussion groups, training workshops and radio programmes and the establishment of a Community Gender Committee, which will conduct door-to-door visits.
Americas and the Caribbean
Chile
Centro Regional de Derechos Humanos y Justicia de género: Corporación Humanas
Project title: It happens to me, I tell, I prevent
Description: Public policy in Chile has focused primarily on protecting women in situations of extreme violence in the private sphere (intimate partner violence), leaving out other manifestations of violence and spaces where it occurs. The lack of comprehensive legislation preventing VAW/G outside the family context places many women in vulnerable situations.
By promoting cultural change through various actions and using an empowerment and participatory approach, the project aims to undertake a thorough assessment of the situation of underserved women immigrants, domestic workers, LBT, women leaving with HIV and with disabilities) in five communities, as well as promoting activities to increase visibility, advocacy, and capacity building. “It happens to me, I talk, I prevent” will highlight the “normalized” violence suffered by underrepresented women in Chile that public programmes have failed to address and prevent.
Colombia
Fundacion Mundubat
Project title: Afro-Colombian women from the city of Buenaventura are empowered to eradicate the violence perpetrated against them, in both public and private spheres; a phenomenon often exacerbated in the context of peace talks and after a peace agreement has been reached.
Description: According to Legal Medicine, out of the 970 femicides in Colombia in 2015, 207 occurred in Valle del Cauca, which makes this one of the area with the highest level of violations of women’s rights. The Municipality of Buenaventura, which is an area that receives internal displaced people and is one of the poorest municipalities in the province, has one of the highest percentages of cases of sexual violence in the state: 50.4% of the total reported cases (70 out of a total of 139 cases).
The project aims to work with excluded and underserved groups, such as Indigenous and Afrodescendant women and to foster the empowerment of the network providing psychological and legal counselling. It will also seek strategic alliances with government actors in order to guarantee comprehensive responses to the needs of survivors and to ensure the implementation of legislation against VAW/G. By engaging crucial actors at the local level (political actors, women’s organizations and institutions responsible for providing services to survivors), the project will build the capacity of the lead organization and women’s networks and support synergies for ensuring prevention and protection services for women and girls living in Buenaventura.
Guatemala
Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres
Project title: For a life free of violence for women and girls
Description: Guatemala has a legal and policy framework that favours the elimination of VAW/G, thanks to the momentum generated by the women's movement and feminist networks. Nevertheless, the failure to fully implement the legal and policy framework and the lack of care, prevention and sanction mechanisms represent the main challenge for the eradication of VAW/G. Statistics data shows that between 2000 and 2015, 9,430 women were killed and that between January and March 2016, 112 women died violently; more than the 60% of these deaths were recorded in the Department of Guatemala.
The project aims to improve coordination mechanisms and institutional responses at the highest State level in order to implement laws to prevent violence and to ensure justice and comprehensive care for survivors. The project will promote coordination between civil society and government institutions to increase public awareness, improve information gathering, enhance compliance with legal commitments and raise awareness among the decision makers in order to create an environment that is favourable to the elimination of VAW/G.
Honduras
Center for Reproductive Rights
Project title: Ensuring Access to Reproductive Healthcare for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Honduras
Description: Levels of violence and homicide rates remain unacceptably high in Honduras. In 2015, almost 500 women were murdered, making Honduras the country with the highest rate of femicide in the region. Sexual violence is rampant: a woman reports a sexual assault every three hours. Those most at risk are children and adolescents: of the 2,832 rape investigations carried out by the Public Ministry in 2013, 70% involved girls and young women between the ages of 10 and 19. According to Doctors Without Borders, half of babies born to girls between the ages of 15 to 19 are the result of rape.
The project aims to protect the health and wellbeing of survivors of sexual violence by providing information about the reproductive health services they have a right to and can access. In addition, the project will mobilize Honduran advocates and lawmakers to reform laws and policies in line with human rights norms on reproductive rights and ending VAW/G. The project will implement a multi-faceted legal advocacy campaign that integrates high-impact litigation, fact-finding, capacity-building, technical assistance to the government, community forums, and media outreach. This campaign will create pressure on multiple fronts for legal reforms that will ensure survivors of sexual violence receive the reproductive health care and information they need.
Peru
Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán
Project title: Indigenous women “My city, my space”: local answers to violence and discrimination
Description: Amazon Indigenous communities have historically been excluded from contributing to the formulation of government policies in Peru. As a result, official policies lack an intercultural perspective and this affects the ability of Indigenous women and girls to exercise a life free of violence and obtain justice. In Satipo Province, where the 16% of the population is Indigenous, ethnic-racial discrimination, sexual harassment and other violations in public spaces are prevalent; 123 cases of sexual violence against Indigenous women and girls were reported in 2015. The state is largely absent in Satipo and as a result Indigenous women and girls are exposed to physical, sexual, and psychological violence in their communities and subject to community justice systems that frequently put them at a disadvantage. This affects their ability to participate in school, work and public life.
The project aims to reduce physical, sexual and psychological violence against Indigenous women and girls by generating knowledge about VAW/G and discrimination in Satipo, increasing public awareness and community engagement to reduce discriminatory practices, strengthening multisectoral coordination mechanisms and enhancing the authorities’ capacity to understand, prevent and respond to VAW/G and to develop programmes with intercultural and gender-based perspectives to implement infrastructure and security projects to create safe public spaces.
Arab States
Lebanon
Kvinna till Kvinna
Project title: Sustainable and rights-based response services for refugee women survivors of GBV, delivered by well-equipped women human rights’ organizations, including elements of secondary and primary preventive operations.
Description: The Syrian conflict has led to an increase in poverty and violence against women in the Syrian refugee population, the Palestinian population and the Lebanese host community. The number of women exposed to violence has increased, creating a need to develop a more systematic way of working with women survivors of gender-based violence.
The project will be carried out in Lebanon in the context of the Syria crisis and focuses on the increasing rates of VAW/G in the context of the tensions in refugee and host communities caused by the movement of people. It aims to ensure that women and girl survivors of GBV in the targeted communities have an increased possibility of living free from violence and that beneficiaries are aware of their rights and can define what they have been subjected to as crimes and violations against their integrity. It will use a strategy which is informed by the experiences of local organizations and of women’s organizations worldwide to support the capacities of two local organizations in responding and providing better services to survivors of violence and work with men and boys through preventative awareness-raising activities.
State of Palestine
Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling
Project title: Promote women's access to social and legal services in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
Description: Violence against women is a widespread problem in Palestinian society, including currently rising levels of femicide. The proposal aims to contribute to the protection and empowerment of women in the State of Palestine and advocate and mobilize support for respect for women’s rights.
It will combine legal and social counselling, refer women to other institutions as needed, develop the skills of 120 Sharia-trained lawyers on court procedures and gender sensitive representation, carry out awareness raising trainings in local communities and produce awareness-raising resources.
Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
Cambodia Women's Crisis Centre
Project title: Promoting Women's Dignity
Description: Women and girls with disabilities have been identified as being at increased risk and facing particular barriers to protection and services under Cambodia’s National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women. Cambodia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but current VAW/G services and responses are not inclusive of women and girls with disabilities and do not recognize the specific vulnerabilities or the additional issues and barriers they face.
The project aims to scale-up multisectoral coordinated mechanisms which will include the needs of women and girls with disability in VAW/G prevention and response services. The project will also seek to inform policies at the national level through the good practices that emerge from project activities. Rights awareness training will be targeted at women and girls with disabilities, community members, men, women and duty bearers. It will also provide skills and life skills training for women and girls with disabilities. The project will be implemented in four provinces and one municipality in Cambodia, in partnership with ADD International Cambodia and government ministries, as well as contracted lawyers and journalists.
India
SAHAYOG Society for Participatory Rural Development
Project title: Partnering for Change
Description: Despite the fact that India has had laws on domestic violence since 2005, demographic surveys show that high rates of domestic violence persist. Long-standing patriarchal beliefs and gender discriminatory social norms in local communities condone and reinforce violence against women. VAW/G is linked to community and caste status and women from marginalized groups – such as the Dalits, religious minorities or domestic workers – are at greatest risk of multiple forms of violence.
The project aims to improve social norms to prevent domestic violence and gender discriminatory practices by improving knowledge and awareness, which will eventually lead to community action to influence the panchayats (village councils) and other community platforms to establish a culture of zero tolerance for VAW/G and gender discrimination. The project will add a VAW/G module to the grantee’s existing programmes for women and girls, which currently focus mainly on health and livelihood issues, in 100 locations in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It will also extend advocacy to target men and boys.
Myanmar
Asia Pacific Network of Service Workers (APNSW)
Project title: Ending violence against sex workers in Myanmar
Description: It is estimated that there are 400,000 sex workers in Myanmar out of a total population of 51 million. Female and transgender sex workers face a high risk of sexual violence not only in the workplace but also in health care and custodial settings and in their homes and communities. This is seriously exacerbated by the criminalization of sex work in Myanmar which creates a climate in which clients, police, and the general public believe they can abuse and discriminate against them with impunity. Within such an environment, sex workers are less able to access health or legal support services in response to incidents of violence.
The project will use community empowerment strategies to build solidarity and productive networks and provide sex workers who have experienced violence with access to legal and health services. Through better collaboration between the sex worker community and the police, the project will work to improve the capacity of institutions to undertake more effective reporting, investigation and prosecution of cases of violence against sex workers. The project will also explore the use of the “iMonitor+ app” and “iMonitor+ data” applications for VAW/G response and data collection, respectively – for use by the sex worker community. This technology has only been previously used in health interventions.
Pakistan
Shirkat Gah-Women's Resource Centre
Project title: Drivers of Change
Description: In Pakistan as in other countries, domestic violence is deeply rooted in patriarchal norms, compounded by women’s lack of economic and decision making power and supportive mechanisms. Despite strong legislation and commitment from the government, implementation remains weak due to multiple factors including lack of awareness and biased attitudes towards women. High gender inequality in socioeconomic spheres further aggravate women’s situation.
Shirkat Gah’s programme will implement a VAW/G prevention programme targeted towards women and girls, duty bearers and the community, with an additional focus on men and boys in four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in Pakistan. By creating a critical mass of community change agents through awareness raising activities, skills training and district level policy dialogues, the project aims to change attitudes towards women’s role in the family and community and empower women to enjoy greater economic control. The project will use a participatory-based approach and include lessons learned and community input from previous interventions as the project evolves. By selecting districts where Shirkat Gah’s presence and relationship with the community are strong, the project builds on goodwill towards Shirkat Gah.
Solomon Islands
The Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Project title: Increasing women's access to justice: a project to implement the FPA in Solomon Islands
Description: Family and domestic violence in the Solomon Islands is prevalent and according to a 2009 Health and Safety Survey, 34% of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime. The Family Protection Act (FPA) 2014 came into force in April 2016. It provides for an integrated response by various government departments to provide assistance to victims of family and domestic violence. Section 9 of the FPA recognized the lack of formal justice mechanisms and thus created Authorized Justices, which are local justices empowered to issue Interim Protection Orders. Local court justices were trained last year on the application of the FPA but according to a review by stakeholders, the training was inadequate to ensure that women are able to access justice in a timely and professional manner.
The project will help the Solomon Islands government and improve access to justice and redress by VAW/G survivors, including marginalized groups. The organization will develop guidelines for the selection of Authorized Justices and develop a national training curriculum and accreditation scheme to develop the capacity of selected informal justice mechanisms established by the FPA in rural communities to be able to deliver quality services. Government agencies who will be involved in this project include the Ministry of Women, Ministry of Justice and the judiciary and other organizations to ensure a multisectoral approach to improve access to justice in both the formal and informal sectors and address the specific issues related to Authorized Justices.
Europe and Central Asia
Moldova, Republic of
HelpAge International
Project title: Ensuring Gender and Age Dimensions of Human Rights are realized in Moldova.
Description: Women in Moldova experience high levels of violence in a range of settings and situations, although stigma and taboos mean it is underreported. Older women in particular suffer from multiple social, economic and legal vulnerabilities that increase their risk of experiencing violence within their home and in the community. Added to this, survivors often struggle to receive the support services they need and address protection vulnerabilities, putting them at risk of further violence.
The project results will be achieved through three main strategies. Firstly, Multi-disciplinary Teams of the National Referral System will be trained in the needs of older women who are at risk of, or have experienced, violence. Second, mentoring will be provided to community groups to plan and execute community outreach activities that ensure women, especially older women, are aware of their right to protection and what support is available. Thirdly, universities training Social Assistance students will be supported to integrate modules on the vulnerabilities and needs of older women into their curriculum.
Serbia
Fund B92
Project title: She Empowerment Upscaling
Description: In Serbia, the Law on Social Protection 2011 ensured that victims who turn to Safe Houses are given short-term financial help, as well as physical security, legal advice and psychological help. However, after leaving Safe Houses, the women who often lack education, professional experience and above all self-confidence find themselves in precarious jobs and facing secondary victimization.
The project will provide an oportunity to improve institutional responses to VAW/G by upscaling the tested, sustainable and easily replicable model of economic empowerment which provides women with educational and mentoring support as well as opportunities for self-employment thus making a difference in individual lives. The project aims to replicate the model in two more cities in Serbia and build a network that would provide them with opportunity to develop partnerships between each other thus improving their overall labour market position.
Special window addressing violence against women in the context of the current refugee crisis
Iraq
ASUDA for Combating Violence against Women
Project title: Combating sexual and gender-based violence against Syrian refugee women and girls in Iraqi Kurdistan
Description: Syrian refugee women and girls living in Iraqi Kurdistan are subject to many forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including early marriage, domestic violence, “honour”-based violence, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and rape. However, social stigma, isolation, and lack of awareness of their rights prevents many women and girls from reporting such acts of violence and from accessing the services and remedies they need. Insufficient monitoring, documentation and reporting of sexual and gender-based violence in turn undermines the ability of authorities and service providers to design appropriate policies and services to address these forms of violence, and renders violations against many refugees invisible.
A team of female researchers drawn from the local community will be trained to monitor and document cases of sexual and gender-based violence against Syrian refugees using an online, civilian-led reporting tool. This information will be used to produce one report/story per year on the experiences of refugee women. The grantee will also engage in advocacy with local authorities and service providers to encourage them to develop response mechanisms and hold awareness-raising sessions for refugee women/girls and men/boys to educate them about sexual and gender-based violence and the support services available to them.
Iraq
Free Yezidi Foundation
Project title: Free Yezidi Foundation Women's Center - Psycho-social Counselling
Description: The organization is requesting funding to strengthen the work of a women's centre it runs in an IDP camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The proposal focuses on providing services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and other female IDPs. The aim is to expand the capacity of the centre so more women can avail of services provided and to add counselling services for women survivors of violence and other trauma.
The project is an especially timely one. As the Security Council Informal Experts Group on Women, Peace and Security has noted, ISIS has targeted the Yezidi population, and Yezidi women and girls in particular, in an effort to persecute this community and to extort money to fund its work. This indicates there is clear need for channelling assistance to Yezidi women and girls. The Free Yezidi Foundation recognizes this need and seeks to use its existing presence and networks at the site of the intervention to better serve female survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Iraq
Women for Women International
Project titte: Addressing Violence Against Syrian Refugee Women in the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq
Description: Syrian refugee women (108,048 UN registered) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) face low social status, a lack of legal, economic and social autonomy, marginalization and isolation. These are compounded by stigmatization and discrimination, including dominant social norms that cast women as second-class citizens, within their communities and in the host country. They are vulnerable to violence and there are inadequate services (security, justice, health) to prevent VAW/G, protect women and girls and respond effectively to their needs. With lack of political will and resources in the KRI, local civil society organizations are responsible for most prevention and response efforts, but they are overburdened and under-resourced.
Interventions will include a comprehensive economic and social empowerment component to directly support the 600 women; additional leadership and advocacy training for selected refugee women; and direct trauma counselling, a drop-in and referral pathway facility and dedicated legal aid, information, guidance and referrals for Syrian women survivors of gender-based violence in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. In addition, Syrian women refugees will be trained to undertake campaigns and advocacy activities; awareness-raising and prevention workshops will be convened for community leaders and people of influence (religious and secular; government and civil society); and technical assistance and mentoring will be provided to the co-implementing partner, Warvin, for local capacity building.
Jordan
Arab Women Organization of Jordan (AWO)
Project title: Improving the well-being of SGBV survivors among Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian Women
Description: Out of the 635,324 Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Jordan, approximately 83% live in host communities. This has placed considerable strain on the already over-stretched service delivery capacity of local governments, particularly in governorates hosting the largest number of refugees, such as Irbid (22.7%) and Mafraq (21.2%). Some 80% of women refugees living in Jordan are vulnerable to sexual, physical and psychological abuse (UN Women 2013). Due to various barriers, most women do not seek help from formal sources but rather cope silently with violence or with support from untrained friends, family members and neighbours.
This project aims to improve social protection and prevention mechanisms in Irbil and Mafraq and the surrounding areas and provide safe services in 2 centres for women and girls survivors, including legal consultations and awareness, psychological counselling, appropriate case referral, life skills, informal education and vocational courses. Efforts will be made to address the root causes of sexual and gender-based violence through community awareness and to engage men and boys as allies in the prevention and response.
Jordan
War Child Canada
Project title: Safeguarding Women and Girls Affected by the Syrian Crisis in Jordan
Description: During conflict and displacement, the risk of violence against women and girls is heightened. According to War Child Canada’s assessment work in 2015 and early 2016, protection has become a significant concern for women and girls in Jordanian host communities, with major gaps in current programming. In what is now a protracted refugee crisis, women and girl refugees in Jordanian host communities lack access to quality community-based protection and support services. Over 80% of refugees in Jordan are living outside of the camps, in urban communities (UNHCR, 2016). Amman governorate, the targeted area for this project, hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees in the country (almost 180,000, or 28%, UNHCR, 2016).
This project will conduct outreach to highly vulnerable and isolated women and girls with education about available support services, women’s rights and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence; establish women’s support groups; provide legal awareness, life skills and psychosocial support to survivors and those at-risk; provide childcare support to children of women during sessions; provide out-of-school girls with basic literacy and life skills training; and establish community-based protection committees. By the end of the two-year project period, it is estimated that 1,500 female refugees and an additional 1,500 women and girls will benefit from the services and support provided.
Special funding window dedicated to small organizations addressing violence against women and girls
Africa (4) | Americas and the Caribbean (1) | Asia and the Pacific (2) | Europe and Central Asia (4)
Africa
Burkina Faso
Association des Femmes Juristes du Burkina Faso
Project title: SGBV Prevention and legal assistance to victims in the Plateau Central, South West and Boucle du Mouhoun regions in Burkina Faso.
Description: Talking about sexuality is still a taboo issue in the family, within the school system and in society in Burkina Faso. Adolescents have limited access to information related to responsible management of their sexuality, STDs, HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive rights. In particular, there is a widespread lack of awareness of forms and manifestations of violence in rural areas, as well as a lack of information on services available for survivors. Data on sexual violence, FGM/C, forced marriage and other forms of harmful traditional practices are not collected and available.
The project aims to create a social environment that facilitates access to information and knowledge about issues related to sexuality and health and violence against women, with a special focus on harmful traditional practices. Activities will seek to educate and build the capacity of women, men, local leaders and health providers and encourage women to in turn become educators of their own children. The project will build synergies between community leaders and service providers to facilitate and increase reporting through clear referral mechanisms and improve service provision and support to survivors.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fondation Monseigneur Emmanuel Kataliko, Conférence d'Uvira (FOMEKA)
Project title: Projet de lute contre l’impunite des violences sexuelles et basees sur le genre en Territoire d’Uvira (Project to end impunity in cases of SGBV in the Uvira territory)
Description: In rural areas of Uvira in war-torn South Kivu there is a widespread impunity for sexual and gender-based violence. Traditional judicial mechanisms offer limited and inadequate responses while the formal justice system remains inaccessible for the majority of vulnerable individuals in remote communities.
The project aims to provide prompt access to justice for survivors, end impunity for perpetrators and engage community leaders in preventing sexual and gender-based violence. The project will make support from paralegals available through legal clinics in Luvungi and in communities of Luvungi centre, Katogota, Lubarika and Ndolera. Along with the paralegal aid service provision, the project will work on sensitization of community leaders (60 men and 40 women) and the general public through training and radio shows.
Nigeria
Sexual Offences Awareness & Victims Rehabilitation Initiative
Project title: Mobilizing communities to end sexual based violence against girls in local district of Abuja municipal area Council
Description: The 2014 Nigerian Survey Report on Violence against Children (VAC) revealed that 1 in 4 Nigerian girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18 and that there is a low disclosure rate (38%). It also reveals that only 16% of girls who experience sexual violence are aware where they can seek help with just 5% actually seeking help and 4% receiving the help needed. To address these issues, the Government of Nigeria launched a call to action for relevant agencies and NGOs to join the effort to end violence against children. The project is a response to this call.
The project will mobilize grass-roots communities and schools to develop local mechanisms to protect girls from sexual violence in two communities in the Municipal Area Council of Abuja. The capacity of local peer leaders and in and out-of-school indigent girls, will be built and strengthened to develop action plans and community based referral mechanisms and link survivors to required multisectoral services. Children, especially girls will be engaged during the entire project: from determining how sexual violence manifests and affects girls in the communities, to deciding what should be done to curtail it. They will be involved in creating the community based child protection committees (CCPC), mechanisms needed to respond to SVAG. In and out of school girls will also be trained to assert their rights, recognize and report sexual abuse and share peer information on SVAG. In-school Girls Clubs will be created as safe spaces for continuous capacity building and confidential disclosures.
Rwanda
Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Développement Rural
Project title: Prévention, accompagnement et réduction des violences faites aux femmes par la mise en place d’activités créatives et traditionnelles dans des lieux de vie typique du Nord-Est du Rwanda (Preventing and reducing violence against women through creative activities in North East Rwanda)
Description: The rural areas of the Eastern and Northern provinces of Rwanda are affected by particularly high rates of violence against women and girls. One of the main factors contributing to the high prevalence of VAW/G in the communities identified by the applicant is economic deprivation. The project aims to prevent VAW/G by transforming social practices and mobilizing communities through a “bottom-up” process. This approach will be complemented by a “top-down” engagement of local authorities and local decision-makers. In addition, the project will pilot recreational, leisure, artistic and sportive activities to promote ending VAW/G. In addition, the project will focus on empowering women in rural communities, paying specific attention to economic empowerment through income generating activities, such as sewing and braiding.
Americas and the Caribbean
Mexico
Centro de Investigaciones para la Equidad, Política Pública y Desarrollo
Project title: Modifying institutional practices and strengthening social fabric for access to Justice of women and girls
Description: Mexico has one of the highest rates of gender violence in the world, with 38% of Mexican women affected by physical, sexual or psychological abuse, compared with a global average of 33%. There is a systematic pattern of impunity for VAW/G, a reflection of the lack of access to justice for women. Women are also subjected to institutional violence by public servants, many of whom victimize women because they lack knowledge about VAW/G and about how to incorporate a gender perspective and human rights into institutional policies and the prosecution of cases.
By creating accountability through the observatory on ending VAW/G and human rights, networking, advocacy on public policies and awareness raising actions, the project aims to work with the officials in the justice systems of Mexico State and Baja California (states that registered the most cases of sexual violence between 2005 to 2010) to strengthen their capacity and awareness, facilitating access to services by survivors of VAW/G by eliminating discriminatory practices and empowering survivors. Also, by enabling the creation of a working group of government institutions and civil society, the project hopes to promote a political agenda which aims to eradicate institutional violence and reduce human rights violations and impunity.
Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
Samatapheap Khrom Organization
Project title: Empowering, Enabling and Educating: Bridging the Gap between Communities and Services to stop Violence Against Women and Girls
Description: Internal migration into urban areas in Cambodia has resulted in the creation of 516 poor urban communities in Phnom Penh, accounting for about a quarter of the capital’s residents. The government’s National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women (2014-2018) highlights the lack of accessibility to relevant services.
The project aims to help fill this gap by providing both preventative support to vulnerable women as well as strengthening response services for victims of VAW/G in the urban slums of Phnom Penh. In terms of prevention, social workers will provide counselling, referrals and economic access to women who are at high risk of gender-based violence. It will organize coordination meetings with service providers providing support for VAW/G survivors to ensure a cohesive and effective multisectoral response. At an institutional/policy level, the grantee will work with key stakeholders and technical working groups on VAW/G issues to support campaigns and advocacy initiatives to end VAW/G.
Solomon Islands
Family Support Centre
Project title: Transforming communities to end sexual and gender based violence
Description: A 2009 Family Health and Safety Study showed that 64% of women in the Solomon Islands aged 15 to 49 who have at some point been in a relationship experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner and that most of them (70%) never sought help. The Family Protection Act 2014 criminalized domestic violence, but there are challenges in implementation. The Family Support Centre, which receives over 300 new cases each year, is offering free, confidential counselling and legal services. The SafeNet referral system, which involves the police, health and social welfare, operates in Honiara to support survivors of gender-based violence, but its services do not extend to the provinces where the majority of the population lives.
The project aims to achieve three key results: (1) victims and survivors of family violence in three additional provinces have access to free, non-judgmental and confidential counselling and legal services; (2) there is increased knowledge across the Solomon Islands about sexual and gender-based violence and access to justice under the Family Protection Act; (3) the quality of counselling, legal advocacy and referral services at the Family Support Centre is maintained and strengthened. The project will replicate the Family Support Centre model (which has been operating successfully in Honiara since 1995) in the provinces and build strong links with civil society and local capabilities.
Europe and Central Asia
Belarus
Belarusian Association of Young Christian Women (YWCA Belarus)
Project title: Prevention of gender-based violence against young women and girls in Belarus
Description: In Belarus, VAW/G occurs in intimate partner relationships, the professional sphere, schools and public places. Predominantly patriarchal traditions legitimize the hierarchical model of the relationship between men and women and girls are taught to be passive. Analysis of educational documents defining the work of secondary school, found that "domestic violence" is understood as "family conflict" and is considered to be a consequence of a lack of preparedness for family life The issue of domestic violence as a form of VAW/G is not addressed in formal educational system.
Through this project, 5,000 young women and girls (aged 14-18) will be able to identify forms and manifestations of VAW/G in relationships (including dating violence) and will acquire different scenarios for protection. Videos will be developed and posted online targeting young women and girls and postcards will be developed based on the video cases. A model of "Change agents" will be developed and tested. A total of 60 "Change agents" will work with youth and representatives of 50 other organizations, including 20 youth workers. In addition, five professionals providing direct assistance to VAW/G survivors will strengthen their competencies in working with youth. A hundred survivors (25 in rural areas) in six regions will receive direct assistance from these specialist service providers.
Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of
Women's Forum - Tetovo
Project title: Empowering Survivors of Domestic Violence in the Tetovo Region
Description: According to the most recent research on gender equality conducted by Akcija Zdruzenska in the Polog Region (2016), less than 10% of respondents believe that existing domestic violence support services meet all the needs of victims of domestic violence.
The grantee will expand its free legal clinic for survivors of domestic violence to include financial skills courses, life skills trainings and group counselling. It will also conduct research among survivors about their experiences with service providers to identify key areas for improvement and work with the police, social service workers, local municipalities and health-care providers to create a multisectoral strategy to better protect women at risk of domestic violence and to ensure a more streamlined process of victim support with better identification and referral. The aim of the project is that, through expanded multisectoral services, survivors of domestic violence will learn valuable life and financial skills and feel empowered to confidently re-enter society and break the cycle of violence. An awareness campaign, which will include youth presentations, round table discussions with Orthodox and Muslim clergy, public debates, and workshops on domestic violence, harassment, and discrimination will initiate a greatly needed dialogue about VAW/G and promote an environment throughout the Tetovo Region in which VAW/G is not tolerated and women of all ages understand their legal rights and feel empowered to claim them.
Montenegro
SOS Hotline for women and children victims of violence Niksic
Project title: Improving Access to Life with No Violence for Women Survivors in Central and Northern Montenegro
Description: The project will operate in economically disadvantaged and geographically isolated communities with strong patriarchal social norms in the central and northern regions where women are at high risk of violence and there is no available support. In three out of four of the targeted municipalities, there are no women’s NGOs or specialized support services for VAW/G survivors. The surveys carried out by UNDP and the grantee found that only 12% of all cases were reported to the authorities. In seven months, only three women sought help in the three targeted municipalities from the national SOS helpline.
The project is designed to facilitate access for women and girls in three remote municipalities in the northern region to the national helpline, shelters, counselling, information and rehabilitation, with particular focus on Roma and Albanian speaking survivors. In addition, the project will establish coordinated local community interventions in four towns in central and northern Montenegro and develop information packages to enable targeted information sharing, referral and communication with survivors and other stakeholders in the community.
Serbia
Center for Girls
Project title: Actively and Publicly Combating Discrimination – Gender-Based Violence
Description: According to the research in which the Centre for Girls took part, girls do not feel safe, their health is endangered and they are not informed about legal regulations. Anti-discrimination policies are not applied, which often discourages survivors of violence from further proceedings. Violence is considered to be a private matter by much of the public, which hampers reporting, reactions to it and efforts to counter it.
The project aims to raise young women’s awareness of the risks of violence and help them identify it and respond accordingly. In two years, 1,200 high-school girls in four cities in Serbia will have improved confidence and will be equipped with knowledge about gender-based violence prevention and to report unwanted sexual activity and/or violence. Eight girls will have gained the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver peer-based workshops in high-schools on gender-based violence. Through 10 performances delivered in high-schools, 2,000 students will have reduced prejudices and improved attitudes and behaviours with regard to women and girls’ legal/human rights. A media campaign will be delivered in the four target cities to help raise public awareness and encourage active responses to gender-based violence.