Integrated Child Protection and GBV in emergency response in Somali Region The proposed project contributes to the overall objective to enhance the safety and wellbeing of children and women IDPs in Tuluglued and Babile Woredas in Fafan Zone   Somali region through emergency psychosocial support intervention. To achieve the overall objective the action has specific outcomes that focus on providing psychosocial support through temporary women and girl’s wellness centers  , Safe Healing and Learning Spaces (SHLS), strengthening GBV and child protection response services and strengthening child-friendly, safe and survivor-centered GBV procedures and coordination mechanisms.  Safe spaced are dedicated to children and women who receive psychosocial support support/activities. This project will be the continuation to the previous project. The wellness centers are women and girls only safe spaces whereas the SHLS are spaces for children.  In particular, the project aims to improve the psychosocial well-being of children and women and strengthen existing CP/GBV multi-response services at BoWCA, and one-stop center.

The expected result under this objective is vulnerable children, women and girls and survivors of GBV receive timely and safe access to psychosocial support and referral services. 

The key issues that this project plans to address includes gaps in proper technical and institutional capacity of BoWCYA limited awareness of communities on available services and absence of standard tools, and operating procedures that help to facilitate quality service provision for vulnerable children and GBV survivors. In response, the IRC proposes to strengthen comprehensive CP and gender-based violence response services for vulnerable children, GBV survivors, and vulnerable women to enhance healing and reduce further risks of violence. The comprehensive CP and GBV response services include strengthening the psychosocial support, targeted capacity-building for local service providers, material support and dignity kit distributions. The IRC will also strengthen referral pathways to improve institutional capacity and to strengthen quality service provision and coordination among CP, GBV and other actors.

Overall, the project aims to address gender based violence and child protection gaps for IDPs communities who are living in drought and conflict affected districts (i.e. Babile and Tuluguled) in Fafen Zone in Somali region through improving, temporary women and children safe spaces to provide lifesaving psycho-social support, strengthening referral pathways and community based structures, and curriculum based awareness raising activities targeting women, children and parents.

The IRC has experience in distributing dignity kits and material support in Somali Region. To reach the most vulnerable children, women and girls, the IRC coordinated with BoWCYA and DRMC starting from the selection of beneficiaries, distribution of materials to post distribution assessment. The IRC hopes this existing partnership with different government structures and service providers in the targeted areas will complement to the successful planning and implementation of this project. Recognizing the challenges faced by women and children in accessing health services including clinical management of rape, the GBV and CP team will closely coordinate with health centers, and one-stop center in the region.