Attachments
Introduction
Somalia is witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to prolonged conflict and recurring droughts and flooding. Crop failures, water shortages, and loss of livestock and livelihood opportunities in communities already overwhelmed by inter-communal conflict have to date displaced approximately 3.8 million people from their homes, 78% of whom are women and children.1 Women and girls especially those living with disabilities and from minority clans are exposed to heightened Gender based Violence Area (GBV) risks and exposure because of displacements.
Increasing reports of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and sexual violence are rampart with grave consequences for the physical and mental health of women and girls.2 Limited availability and access to services combined with stigmatization and fear of reprisal from the perpetrator, family members and community members at-large constitute major barriers to services. Avenues to seek justice or recourse for survivors are dogged with delays and perpetrators are not often held accountable due to weak rule of law and discriminatory social and cultural norms.
The GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) is one of the AoR’s in the Protection Cluster in the Somalia humanitarian response. The major aim of the GBV AoR is to work in collaboration with other clusters to ensure effective coordination of quality, timely and safe confidential GBV specialised services is available and accessible to vulnerable women and girls (including GBV survivors) in camps and host communities, impacted by conflicts and natural hazard events. The GBV AOR is led and co-led by UNFPA and International Rescue Committee (IRC) at Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) level. It currently operates 1 national and 21 sub-national platforms led by international, government and national partners with reporting responsibilities to the leadership at the FGS. The AoR has approximately 54 operational partners, the majority of whom are national or local organisations, working in highly insecure areas delivering services that communities often consider controversial owing to their focus on survivors of GBV. Despite the challenges of limited funding and availability of capacitated coordinators to operate area-based coordination; limited number of local specialised GBV service providers, the AoR continues to improve operations by enhancing local capacities for coordination through mentoring, supervision, and oversight.