Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The main scope of the research was i) to identify the root causes of and factors contributing to sexual assault among refugee communities in Doro, Yusuf Batil, Kaya and Gendrassa camps in Maban County; ii) to provide information on the challenges faced by survivors of sexual assault and iii) make practical recommendations to respond and help prevent this kind of violence.
FINDINGS
As the large literature on gender based violence highlights, the root causes of it is the unequal distribution of power between men and women. While the root causes of gender-based violence lie in assumptions about superiority or inferiority based on a person’s gender, various other factors influence the type and extent of GBV in each setting:
TYPES AND EXTENT OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE
• Limited data and information about GBV and few assisted cases of sexual assault Reports figures and available statistics cannot give a substantial overview about sexual assault in the four camps nor do they allow for efficient informing of programmatically responsive and preventive action in an evidence-based way. Therefore it is extremely important to compare them with other qualitative research tools.
• Refugee’s communities characterized by high social cohesion and traditional coping mechanisms The high control exerted by community leaders, the relative high social cohesion of the refugees’ communities, and the effort to re-construct and mirror in Maban displaced setting of their traditional village systems of Blue Nile might contribute to explain the decrease of reported and collected GBV cases from 2013 to 2014 and the relative few cases of sexual violence that are disclosed to the existing services in the four camps, which are designed according to a GBV response in emergency program.
• Limited women and girls’ awareness and knowledge about basic concepts of gender based violence There is an inescapable, profound, deeply rooted and internalised individual acceptance by women and girls of sexual violence as part of their life, as a cultural practice that happens in refugees camps now as it happened in their villages in Blue Nile before their displacement.
COMMUNITY COPING MECHANISM AND HELP SEEKING BEHAVIORS
• “Solving cases” and community justice mechanisms Sexual violence is seen as an issue to be solved more than a crime to be punished or above all as a trauma suffered by the woman/girl, which needs to be healed more than fixed. The sheik’s decisions are notably not based on women rights and do not respect a survivors-centred approach.
Families’ reaction and peer support reflect a pervasive culture of blame Unfortunately, social norms on gender based violence are so enrooted that women will offer very small peer support and some of them will indeed judge and blame the survivor.
• Limited women and girls’ knowledge and perceptions about GBV services available This might play an extremely important factor in understanding why women and girls might not seek assistance to services that indeed are available in the four camps: they might simply not know why they should go and how those services might improve their conditions.
THE HUMANITARIAN GBV PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT IN MABAN COUNTY
• Challenges of GBV coordination and referral pathways
Referral pathways have been established among actors, all fairly knowledgeable about the use of appropriate intake and consent forms. International actors seem also to have internal mechanisms to ensure safe, confidential storage of all client information at their level. GBV actors have also disseminated information on referral pathways among service providers. Nevertheless, an update of the referral mechanisms is extremely needed in order to ensure timely services delivery.
Overlapping and complexity of GBV survivors’ services
While referral pathways have been established and SOPs signed and endorsed, there is still some confusion amongst women and girls and humanitarian personnel on the GBV services available to GBV survivors, also partially because of high turnover of NGOs personnel.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DRC GBV AND PROTECTION PROGRAM AND OTHER GBV ACTORS
• Apply a more culturally sensitive and less overt GBV program strategy
• Clarify the strategic vision for a women and girls empowering program
• Develop appropriate Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategies
• Develop culturally sensitive training curriculum that are age and gender tailored
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN ACTORS IN MABAN COUNTY
• Advocate for compliance and implementation of international standards and GBV guiding principles:
• Clear identification of roles and responsibilities for quality and holistic referral of GBV survivors
• Advocate and implement psychosocial activities with a women and girls focus
• Lead and/or advocate for actions that reduce GBV risks for women and girls
Sexual assault in a rather stabilized crisis scenario is an extremely sensitive topic, because it does not follow the emergency patterns. From a GBV programming perspective, this implies a change in program design and implementation and a more structured participation and empowerment of women and girls in the camps.
GBV actors in Maban displacement settings have carried out an extensive and comprehensive intervention in the past years: GBV services have been put in place, focal points have been identified, training have bene facilitated, information has been disseminated, and GBV response services are now available to GBV survivors.
It is then suggested to capture this momentum in order to be able to modify the current GBV programing including new patterns. Sexual assault in those kinds of phases is not exclusively related to the displacement settings but also to cultural beliefs and social dynamics of the local communities.