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During 2020-2021, UNHCR has continued its proactive engagement with numerous commitments and Inter-Agency initiatives at the global level. UNHCR supported the revision and made renewed commitments to the revised roadmap of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies.
UNHCR engaged with the Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBVAoR) and its Task Teams, particularly on the GBV Minimum Standards, Localization and the Policy and Advocacy Reference Group, supporting the development of the GBViE Minimum Standards Facilitation Guide and Contextualization tool, the development of Covid-specific guidance, as well as several advocacy pieces.UNCHR also participated regularly in the Inter-Agency standing committee (IASC) Gender Reference Group (GRG) and in the IASC Guidelines Reference Group.UNHCR serves as a member of the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict and has supported the SRSG SVC’s Office with human resources to support coordination.UNHCR co-chairs Results Group 2 on Accountability and Inclusion supporting humanitarian leaders and responders in demonstrating system change through collective approaches to accountability and inclusion. It includes PSEA as well as ensuring consideration of diversity characteristics such as gender.UNHCR is a member of the GBVIMS Steering Committee and its technical team, PRIMERO coordination committee and PRIMES.
In 2020, 64,796 GBV survivors received psychosocial counselling, 3,297 received legal assistance and 5,736 medical assistance through services provided by UNHCR and partners.
Through the Global Humanitarian Response Plan to COVID-19 (GHRP), over 2 million women and girls reached UNHCR via hotlines and other mechanisms to support GBV, while some 1.18 million women and girls were provided with sexual and reproductive health services.
During the last quarter of 2020, UNCHR's registration and case management system, ProGres v4, was upgraded. The operationalization of the CP and GBV modules was supported through a series of trainings and tailored technical support provided to country operation to increase their awareness and understanding of the new enhancements. The continued deployment of the ProGres v4 CP and GBV modules has increased the ability of operations to standardize and disaggregate the GBV and CP Case Management data for program quality and trend analysis.
The collection of survivors' personal data concerning GBV incidents is carried out only if the survivor has consented and wishes to be referred for protection or assistance in accordance with the GBV Guiding Principle and data protection principles, as outlined in UNHCR's GBV Policy. In the case of children, specific procedures for obtaining consent/assent from parents/caregivers and/or children are required, in adherence with the best interests of the child.A standardized GBV Safety Audit tool has been developed to assess and monitor overall safety and GBV risk mitigation and response measures in operations, and to collect site-level information. Operations are utilizing the tool to inform programming.
UNHCR continues its commitments to proactively contribute to numerous inter-agency coordination fora and initiatives, such as the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies and the Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBVAoR). Likewise, UNHCR is engaged in the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and the GBV Accountability Framework, to promote system-wide accountability to SGBV.
UNHCR is also an active member in the IASC Guidelines reference group; different AOR sub-working groups; the Energy in Emergencies Advisory Group and the GBVIMS Steering Committee and sub-working groups, among others.
UNHCR actively and systematically participates in the inter-agency standing committee (IASC) gender reference group (GRG).
UNHCR is involved and co-chairs working groups that align policies and meet minimum standards including the UN SEA Working Group, the High-Level Steering Group and IASC RG2. It has maintained close cooperation with the Office of the Special Coordinator on SEA and the UN Victim’s Rights Advocate. In the last quarter of 2019, UNHCR hosted an investigators conference as the Interim Chair of the CEB Task Force on SH and representing the HC in the current IASC Champion on Protection from SEA and SH.
The UNHCR Global Strategic Priorities report from 2019 for 2018 shows how UNHCR improved support to known survivors of SGBV in 44 situations and maintained the level of support in 39 operations. UNHCR improved data management and analysis of SGBV, which strengthened programming and enhanced services for survivors and those at risk. UNHCR deployed senior-level protection staff to ten emergency operations, covering all L3 emergencies, where they strengthened coordination among partners, ensured access to quality of SGBV services, trained staff, and worked with diverse communities to address SGBV. UNHCR and partners launched mass sensitization and awareness campaigns and conducted targeted trainings for community leaders and influential groups, including youth and men.
UNHCR contributed to the finalized UN Assistance Victim Protocol and piloted a one-week training for UNHCR’s security personnel on Gender Inclusion in Security Management which included psychological first aid, sensitive responses to incidents of sexual misconduct. UNHCR also led training for over 800 female colleagues from UNHCR, UN agencies and partner organizations across 17 countries on Woman’s Security Awareness and continued promoting the role of UNHCR’s psychosocial case manager who offers guidance to victims/survivors and witnesses of SH. The organization increased investment in more than 30 countries to strengthen field mechanisms that are available to beneficiaries in order to be able to safely report misconduct including SEA and reinforce the safety and security of survivors of SGBV which also supported referral to services such as health, psychosocial and legal support.
Data collection and analysis: UNHCR uses the Gender Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS), an inter-agency initiative that enables humanitarian actors to effectively and safely collect and analyze SGBV incidents reported by survivors. This system informs improvements in response services, SGBV prevention and coordination. As of the end of 2019, GBVIMS was used by UNHCR operations in 21 countries, 19 of those as inter-agency initiatives. During 2019 and prior to the launch of the SGBV Policy, baseline assessments were conducted across 21 countries in six regions.
Research: In 2019, UNHCR has continued its engagement with the CERAH (Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action) Steering Committee and with the Empowered Aid project on PSEA in Lebanon and Uganda, to produce knowledge that can be used to reduce power disparities in the distribution of humanitarian aid and mitigate risks of SEA. UNHCR collaborated with research and advocacy projects, such as All Survivors Project.
Dissemination of promising practices: In 2019, UNHCR released the report ‘Learning from experience to advance gender equality – promising practices in Asia’, which amongst other includes a promising practice on SGBV coordination in Sri Lanka.
UNHCR is a signatory of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies and has made 10 commitments aimed at changing UNHCR’s internal institutional policies and implementing SGBV prevention, mitigation and response programmes from the onset of emergencies.
As lead for the Global Protection Cluster, the UNHCR promotes protection as central to the humanitarian response and as a core member of the IASC’s GBV Area of Responsibility, UNHCR works with UN agencies, NGOs and governments to ensure coverage and quality of prevention and response mechanisms in addressing SGBV.
UNHCR is member of the Real Time Accountability Partnership and serves as member of UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, an interagency collation aimed at galvanizing coordinated UN effort to address sexual violence in conflict-related settings.
UNHCR co-chairs the IASC Task Team on Accountability to Affected Populations and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (AAP/PSEA).
UNHCR is also a member of the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict Network of Focal Points who support the work of the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Data Collection
UNHCR utilises the Gender Based Violence Information Management System, an inter-agency initiative enables humanitarian actors to effectively and safely collect and analyse SGBV incidents reported by survivors. This system helps informs improvements in response services, in SGBV prevention, and in coordination. It has been introduced in 20 UNHCR operations, 7 of which were in 2017.
Analysis and research
UNHCR conducted a population-based assessment of the impact of solar-powered street lights in Uganda’s Rhino Camp. The assessment indicated perceptions of prevention of violence and crime, improvement of safety, and productive night-time activity in the refugee settlement was carried out in 2017 in cooperation with refugees who led the collection and analysis of the data. The study represents the first known research on the protective effect of community lighting in a refugee settlement.
A study by the Population Council, UNHCR and local Ugandan organizations, tested the effectiveness of implementing a community-based SGBV prevention model in emergency settings - the Zero Tolerance Village Alliance intervention, in Western Uganda, proved to be particularly effective in moderating negative gender attitudes and beliefs related to SGBV and positively changing perceptions of community SGBV norms.
A compilation of promising practices to address Gender Equality in the Middle East and North African region was released in 2017. This report contains in-depth information on seven gender equality promising practices that are part of UNHCR’s response to the Syria crisis in the Middle East and North Africa. It reflects catalytic initiatives that seek to address specific gender-related protection needs and risks of diverse Syrian women, men, boys and girls implemented by UNHCR and partners.
UNHCR and a partner organisation have opened a women’s only internet café in Herat, Afghanistan. The café, which is the first of its kind within UNHCR operations, was devised as a response to the harassment and intimidation experienced by many women who used traditional internet cafes in Herat. The café provides a safe environment to use the internet, participate in free trainings and report SGBV cases through a confidential questionnaire. The project also explores how to connect participants to skills training relevant to the local job market.