Enhanced community- based inclusive and comprehensive GBV and protection services for Areas C, H2 and East Jerusalem ltpgtlt/pgtltpgtltspangtIn the West Bank (WB)
and East Jerusalem, Palestinians face coercion and discrimination by Israeli
policies and practices, including restricted access to basic services and
escalating violence. In the WB, 0.8 million persons are in need of
multisectoral services, of which 10% are persons with disabilities (PwD) and
738,091 persons are in need of protection services (HNO 2023 oPt Oct 2022). The
HNO identifies 800,000 persons as in need of GBV services in the WB and
reported risks of verbal harassment affecting girls (14% of households) and
women (9%), and risks of sexual harassment or violence for girls (6%) and women
(4%) (MSNA 2022).  In WB, 10% of households have at least one member with
a disability (MSNA 2022).  Persons with disabilities suffer from mild to
moderate and severe mental health problems, poor integration in society,
stigmas, and lack of accessible infrastructure/services, and are particularly
vulnerable to protection concerns including GBV. There is also a higher
prevalence of mental health disorders for girls and women in the oPt and stigma
around mental health is higher for women, preventing their access to services.
The Tdh October 2022  Assessment (covering Jenin, Tubas, Nablus, Ramallah,
Hebron and East Jerusalem) on the MHPSS and GBV needs and available services
for vulnerable people affected by violence, found that childrenlt/spangtltspangt
experience the highest level of violence in the streets, mainly due to threats
and risks from Israeli forces, settler attacks and community fights where
weapons are usedlt/spangtltspangt , while women
experience more violence within the home. Community normalization of violence
against women, children, and PwD and a lack of awareness on types of violence
affecting these groups further contributes to their protection risks and can
result in reduced access to services.   The assessment identified two
priorities which form core components of this action : 1) increased community
awareness about forms of violence against women, children and PwD, and 2)
tailored and multi-level psychosocial support for children and adults,
including PwD, affected by violence.lt/spangtltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtltspangtThe project aligns
with the oPt Strategic Response Plan (SRP), contributing to Strategic Objective
2 to ensure that Palestinians’ basic needs are met through provision of quality
basic services and access to resources. The action will focus on strengthening
community-based protection mechanisms by building the capacities of
community-based organization (CBO) service providers to provide comprehensive
and inclusive GBV and protection responses, including raising awareness on GBV
and other types of violence, providing MHPSS structured support for GBV
survivors or at risk of GBV and for families who have experienced violence and
protection threats, case management processes, safe identification, and
referral to specialized services, and vocational training to enhance survivors’
 income generating opportunities. A community-based system will be used to
identify families exposed to attacks or protection threats and provide tailored
cash grants to enhance their physical protection  (eg protective window
bars, lighting, fencing) or access to protective services (eg costs for
specialised MHPSS services for victims of violence) and strengthen related
referral systems for survivors of any type of violence.lt/spangtlt/pgtltpgtltspangtSpecial attention will
be given to build the organizational capacity of service providers in
disability mainstreaming, safeguarding and PSEA. Increased and improved
capacities of local CBOs will ensure functional community protection mechanisms
and enhance the sustainability of these services.lt/spangtlt/pgtltpgtltspangtTdh and partners will
build on the existing oPt HF project and leverage available resources, skills
built, established relationships with the communities, and lessons learnt, and
expand to new localities where needs have increased with the recent escalation
of violence in Nablus and Jenin governorates.lt/spangtlt/pgtltpgtltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtlt/pgt