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Compared to the previous year, in 2015 significantly greater levels of assistance were provided to survivors across a range of key core services: psychosocial counselling was provided to survivors in 27,616 reported SGBV incidents (38% increase compared to 2014); legal assistance in 7,342 reported incidents (31% increase); medical assistance in 4,518 reported incidents (7% increase); material assistance in 5,542 reported incidents (27% increase); and safe spaces in 3,948 reported incidents (50% increase). Additionally, over 6,000 survivors were enrolled in income generating and occupational activities doubled the number enrolled in the previous year.
UNHCR has invested a substantial number of hours conducting training for staff and refugees on SGBV. By the end of 2015, UNHCR trained 228,325 persons of concern, 13,693 partner, government, and UNHCR staff.
The investment in SGBV and other protection learning as a whole builds UNHCR’s capacity to implement better protection for refugees and is a core element of improving sustainability of advances made in prevention work. UNHCR is in the final stages of developing an SGBV prevention and response web-based learning program mandatory for all staff, and a Training Package on SGBV Prevention and Response, designed as 18 stand-alone modules with extensive supplementary material to draw from.
The UNHCR Sexual and Gender Based Violence Guidelines developed in 2003 are currently in revision to bring them in line with relevant internal and external guidance and policy documents such as the UNHCR Need to Know Guidance on Working with Men and Boy Survivors of SGBV, the Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR, and the IASC GBV Guidelines. The revised guidelines will be rolled-out in 2017.
In Kenya, among Somali refugees over 500 survivors received some form of legal assistance and 62 percent of reported cases were prosecuted. Among the activities, the deployment of 10 translators to police gender desks located at various police stations in the camp strengthened confidential reporting and enhanced the investigation of reported cases. Additionally, close to 40 percent of police stations in the Dadaab operation have uninterrupted access to the Internet, which facilitates the police’s participation in an online training platform covering SGBV.