Production of a GBV-SOP document nationally endorsed by relevant official entities in Lebanon. Please refer to activity identifier  LB-MOI-497-DMFA-ABAAD19-21 GBV service providers In 2012, ABAAD established and has been co-chairing the National Technical Task Force to end GBV in Lebanon (NTTF) which is directly chaired by H.E the Minister of Social Affairs. This collaborative relationship with the ministry comes as an integral part of ABAAD’s core belief that the state has a fundamental role in eliminating GBV and supporting all related efforts. As such, NTTF’s main objective from the very start was to identify national priorities in the area of combating VAW (Violence Against Women), as well as to set and develop national action plans aimed at addressing GBV challenges, preventing its prevalence, and mitigating its impact. For this end, an expert lead consultant, Dr. Jean Kors, was subcontracted to develop this SOP following a thorough consultation in the field on best profile to lead this work and a number of set criteria, and most importantly with a consensus and buy-in from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA), as the lead ministry to this national process, who contributed in the revision of the ToR and work plan and recruitment the process. The GBV SOP was developed through a collaborative consultative process that engaged government and non-governmental organizations, concerned UN agencies (UNICEF/UNFPA/UNHCR/UNW/WFP…), national GBV CSOs & safe shelters (Mary & Martha; YWCA, Sisters of Good Shepard…), Syndicates (of doctors, of midwives, of nurses, of social workers, of psychotherapists…) and relevant representatives of the communities and groups that are affected by, or that can influence, the prevalence and impact of GBV in Lebanon. Dr. Jean Kors completed the national GBV SOP through a participatory and dynamic methodology that ensured proper consultation with the main stakeholders. The process was completed under the sponsorship and support of the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), and in collaboration with the National Technical Task Force to end GBV in Lebanon (NTTF), as well as other relevant national stakeholders including the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoI), the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MEHE) and the GBV sector in Lebanon. The GBV SOP includes actions and commitments for duty bearers at all public and civil levels, all aimed at the mitigation of GBV prevalence and impact. This emphasizes the need to steer all stakeholders to strengthen not only their internal systems and services, but most importantly their accountability and commitment to collaboration, coordination and excellence. To ensure the best interests of the targeted groups, all interventions, starting from this process itself and to the creation and implementation of all procedures and policies, the following guiding principles were adopted and practiced: - Compliance with all applicable human research regulations and ethical conducts related to human research - Participation and involvement - Non-Discrimination - Social value - Do not Harm / Protection from physical, mental and emotional harm - Collaboration and information - Respect for persons - Best interests of GBV survivors - Survivor-centered approach - Access to information - Scientific validity - Accountability Moreover, the GBV SOP is composed of five (5) main sections: - Standard Operating Procedures - Standards and quality of work - Case Management - Referral System - Referral Pathways - In addition to 2 sections related to Recommendations and Forms. Several meetings took place between ABAAD and MoSA, resulting in correspondence with the main representatives to form a steering committee. The expert conducted a desk review of the material and conducted 29 semi-structured interviews with NGOs, INGOs, ministries & official entities, UN agencies, and national GBV experts, to gather specific qualitative information. He also analyzed the feedback/data that was collected through mixed methods from the research in order to come up with the SOP. The GBV SOP has been reviewed by the national GBV actors (Official entities and civil society organisations) during a consultation meeting held on July 19, 2018 with the presence of 57 participants representing GBV actors, in addition to MOSA and ABAAD staff members. The Document has been endorsed by MOSA and reviewed by the steering committee composed from the ministries of Justice, Interior (ISF), Public Health (MOPH), Social Affairs and ABAAD during the meeting that was held on November 29, 2018. In parallel to this, the consultant, with the support of NASEEJ’s team, conducted mapping for all available GBV service providers and all GBV-related actors and front-liners (ISF, judges, NGOs, INGOs, ministries, Forensic Doctors, lawyers, hospitals, health facilities, etc…) that can be used for the referral pathway to be developed in line with the centralized helpline that ABAAD is managing. The consultant also designed a survey as an instrument to examine the availability and/or lack of adequate services provided to GBV survivors both by service providers and relevant agencies that have been identified in the earlier mapping exercise. This survey has been sent to the identified actors providing services for GBV survivors who were asked to fill in the survey with proper data to the best of their knowledge. List of interviewees, NTTF and steering committee memo for this activity, attendance list of the consultation meeting, list of interviewees and the SOP document are attached in Annex # I. To note that this National GBV SOP is the broader umbrella of the GBV SOP in Emergency setting document that was developed by the GBV Task Force sector and printed with the support of the RDDP project and transformed, with support from Diakonia and RDDP into a mobile application for humanitarian responders to GBV in Lebanon entitled RESPOND! Throughout ABAAD’s extensive work on the field and with women & girls survivors of GBV, the need for producing a national unified Gender Based Violence Standardized Operational Procedures (GBV SOPs) and related tools and documents arose. This much-needed tool could help not only GBV front-liners, but also members of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), Health workers, Social Workers, various ministries as well as research and advocacy NGOs in the field of GBV.