United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees

The establishment of Special Projects is a key development in the UNHCR protection response for survivors. They support multi-sectoral projects in 15 countries and cover a wide range of activities, including strengthening psychosocial response for urban refugees in India, provision of safe houses for IDPs in Haiti, and promotion of livelihoods for refugees in Ethiopia. Other examples include one-stop services to all survivors of SGBV in Jordan, regardless of their legal status; an agreement between the government and Lawyers without Borders to assist UNHCR and partners in facilitating legal services for refugees in Burundi; mobile courts in Uganda and Colombia to ensure that persons in areas lacking judicial infrastructure can have access to justice. Hide

UNHCR office in India and in cooperation with the government, in response to one of the recommendations from the Dialogues with refugee replaced paper refugee certificates with smart ID cards, resulting in enhanced protection and access to services. In refugee camps where UNHCR has SGBV programs, UNHCR and its partners ensured that 95% of known survivors received support services; in urban areas the support reached 87% of survivors. Hide

In 2010, UNHCR and partners referred 83% of those who reported sexual and gender-based violence cases in camps for assistance. In urban settings, this was the case for 97% of reported cases. UNHCR operations put in place a number of innovative approaches to preventing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and providing comprehensive support for survivors. For example, in Burundi, it was agreed to use the hospital as a safe haven for SGBV survivors, avoiding the stigmatization that often results from having a specific shelter. In Yemen, safe accommodation is rented rather than having a specific safe house, in order not to isolate an SGBV survivor from the community. In Ecuador, UNHCR set up livelihoods programmes for SGBV survivors, including access to micro-credit. Survivors are also given access to legal assistance. Hide

In Jordan, UNHCR and UNFPA coordinated a mapping of existing sexual and reproductive health and sexual and gender-based violence services available to Iraqi refugees. A matrix was developed and shared with the sub-group on Reproductive Health, the health group and other key actors providing services to mobilize improved services. Hide

In Syria, UNHCR and the Syrian Women Union are supporting a new centre for Iraqi refugee women at risk, particularly female teenagers who are involved in commercial sex work. Hide

In Liberia, UNHCR and its partners supported the establishment of a new community health department and organized community health committees and volunteers. The volunteers participated in awareness-raising sessions on primary health care, reproductive health, sexual and gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS. Strong coordination on sexual and gender-based violence is also on-going between UN agencies, the government and NGOs, and response mechanisms to sexual and gender-based violence are being put in place and strengthened. Hide

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include capacity building workshops for women in Panama; psychological counselling in Venezuela and Turkey; distribution of sanitary materials in India and Thailand; improved access to health facilities and income-generation activities in India; allocation of subsistence allowances to unaccompanied children in Egypt; language classes in Malta, vocational training in Bosnia; and the establishment of safe houses in Yemen and Turkey. UNHCR expanded the provision of Post Exposure Phropyhlaxis (PEP) following rape to prevent transmission of HIV. Hide

UNHCR collaborates with health partners, to ensure that survivors of violence have proper access to services, including access to post-exposure prophylaxis and emergency contraception. Such collaboration with UNFPA and other partners includes training on clinical management of rape survivors for health professionals. Hide

UNHCR operational activities include establishing and maintaining drop-in centres to facilitate access to health and psychosocial service providers, safe shelters, and legal justice for survivors. Hide