Search
In 2017 and 2018, two key training workshops were held for FAO staff and partners in Somalia (Mogadishu and Hargeissa) and north east Nigeria (Maiduguri). The scope of the trainings was to support the integration of gender, gender-based violence and accountability to affected populations (AAP) in FAO’s programming and planning. They were articulated around participatory, practical and interactive sessions and participants were oriented on relevant global frameworks such as the World Humanitarian Summit, Grand Bargain commitments and the Secretary-General’s Bulletin on PSEA as well as have the opportunity to apply tools for gender and GBV analysis and assessment, amongst others.
In Nigeria, the importance of energy access for affected populations in the context of acute emergencies and protracted crises cannot be overstated. Vulnerable populations – including refugees, IDPs and the communities hosting them – often have very limited access to cooking fuel and other forms of energy. Women and children primarily shoulder the burden of collecting fuelwood and preparing meals for the family. This gender-differentiated role has major consequences in terms of productive time lost and exposure to protection risks and health risks. Against this background, the participatory, practical and context-specific training was delivered on challenges relating to energy access, environment and displacement, with a focus on resilience programming and gender mainstreaming in the three Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
A network of field ethics focal points has been created to receive and escalate complaints related to sexual exploitation and abuse. Trainings have been conducted for focal points on ethics procedures and the handling of these complaints, as well as on Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and FAO's PSEA procedures.
1) FAO, together with UN Country Teams, UN Women, UNFPA and other national and international partners, led the “16 Days of Activism to end Violence against Women” campaign in 5 regions of Niger (Maradi, Tillaberi, Dosso, Tahoua and Zinder). In 120 villages where there are Dimitra Clubs, the campaign raised awareness on gender-based violence.
As part of this Campaign”, which began on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, two further events took place to raise awareness on the links between gender-based violence and its relevance to the work of the Organization.
The first was the ESP-sponsored “Forum theatre around gender-based violence – Out of the box”. Through games and role-plays, participants worked on situations where GBV can occur.
The second event was a UN Rome-Based Agencies event that took place entitled “Ending gender-based violence to end hunger and poverty: The role we play”. As part of the UNiTE campaign, FAO, IFAD and WFP came together to raise awareness of this global pandemic.
2) FAO is actively engaged in the IASC developing global standard operating procedures (SOPs) for community based complaints mechanisms (CBCMs). In addition, FAO made to meet PSEA minimum operating standards, which currently serve as a planning and monitoring tool.
Through FAO’s community-based resilience building approach called “Caisses de Résilience”, women’s groups received support to strengthen their technical, financial and social capacities to engage in resilient livelihoods, reintegrate into society and rebuild their self-esteem by gaining increased skills, knowledge and economic self-reliance.
FAO's Ethics Officer and Senior Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Focal Point is actively engaged in the development of inter-agency PSEA SOPs, as part of the Inter Agency Standing Committee Principals renewed commitment to end SEA in humanitarian work.
At the field level FAO is working on the prevention and mitigation of GBV through specific programmes and approaches such as the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools in Uganda and Kenya, the Dimitra Clubs in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Burundi and Senegal, and the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) approach in South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, and Kenya, among others. The JFFLS and Dimitra Clubs use empowerment approaches to bring men and women together to proactively work on issues they face in their daily lives, including GBV. Today there are approximately 1,500 FAO-Dimitra Clubs in sub-Saharan Africa (Burundi, DRC, Ghana, Niger and Senegal), with over 35,000 direct beneficiaries and 350,000 indirect beneficiaries, two thirds being women. Programmes implemented as part of the SAFE initiative reduce the risk of exposure to violence that predominantly women and girls face whilst collecting firewood in some of the contexts FAO works.