Dignity matters: protecting & empowering girls and boys affected by the Venezuela Crisis in Colombia SUMMARY 
By the end of 2019 the Venezuela migration crisis will be the largest in the world, with an estimated 3 million people who will have left Venezuela. The largest migratory flow is arriving or passing through Colombia. According to the latest figures presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombia there are 1,260,594 Venezuelans in Colombia.  68 per cent of the Venezuelan migrants lack the right to work, access basic services and face severe forms of discrimination and abuse. While the border areas are the most affected, Venezuelans are also moving to main cities, where response capacities are overwhelmed. This project implemented with Plan Colombia in February 2019 until July 2019, focuses on girls’ and women’s urgent needs by working with adolescents and youth to inform and prevent gender-based prevention, provide psychosocial support and sexual and reproductive health and rights, including distribution of essential reproductive health and hygiene kits. Plan is working to meet the specific needs of girls and by providing safe spaces , psycho-social support for survivors of violence, and sexual and reproductive health services. This project complements and enhances the response that is currently active by Plan Colombia. This project reflects a Rapid Needs Assessment conducted together with UNHCR that identified the harmful impact of the displacement on women and girls. Including: 
- High rate of various forms of SGBV have been reported: violence in close relationships, sexual violence (including rape, sexual assault and harassment in all public and private spheres of life); trafficking in human beings, slavery, and sexual exploitation.  Some Venezuelan women are in a situation of sex for survival and / or sexual and labour exploitation at risk of human trafficking and SGBV. 
- Gaps in sexual and reproductive education
- Increasing commercial sexual exploitation including reports of girls selling their virginity for cash
- High rates of adolescent pregnancy
- Lack of access to dignified hygiene and menstrual hygiene facilities and products
- Limited knowledge of support and services available for GSBV survivors, especially amongst the young married population Cross Cutting Intervention Approaches:
Community Based Approach: The project will be based on a strong community-based approach. To this extent, the intervention will involve the receiving community where have been living victims of the Colombian armed conflict who have been forced to move from their territories. Today these settlements receive Venezuelan migrants, sharpening the needs panorama.

Boys and men engagement: Meaningful engagement with men and boys is critical to advancing gender equality and equity. It is necessary not only for women’s empowerment, but also to transform the social and gender norms that reinforce patriarchy and inequality and harm both women and men.  In this project young women and adolescents as well as young men and adolescents will be involved in order to broaden the impact of the prevention of GBV. Both genders are fundamental to guarantee the sustainability of the knowledge learned. Therefore, the workshops are aimed at pointing to the respect of each other's interests for the other gender and to promoting healthy and violence-free relationships.

Adolescent Empowerment: At-risk girls and boys are being empowered to enjoy their rights and promote gender equality through recreational and social activities, as well through life skills training generating positive knowledge, skills on protection issues, including CP, GBV, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). By the end of 2019 the Venezuela migration crisis will be the largest in the world, surpassing even the Syria crisis with an estimate of more than 3 million people who will have left Venezuela. The largest migratory flow is received by Colombia, both for the population in transit and as an end destination. According to the latest figures presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombia there are 1,260,594 Venezuelans in Colombia. The affected populations in Colombia are mainly poor, marginalised and vulnerable people, subject to invisible and severe forms of discrimination. According to official figures 68 per cent of the Venezuelan migrants are in an irregular migratory status and lack the right to work and access basic services. While the border areas are the most affected, Venezuelans are also moving to main cities, such as Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Bucaramanga, where response capacities are overwhelmed. In crisis situations, the needs for shelter, food and security are rightly given urgent attention. Yet the specific needs of women and girls are too often overlooked. This project has a strong focus on girls and women urgent needs addressing gender-based violence prevention and SRHR. In order to strengthened acceptance and tolerance towards the migrant population and avoid potential conflict, the project will target both Venezuelan migrants and Colombian nationals that are living in vulnerable conditions.  

200 Niñas: de 0 a 12 años. Población indirecta	 
180 Niños: de 0 a 12 años. Población indirecta	
200 Mujeres adolescentes entre 13 y 17 años.	
160 Hombres adolescentes entre 13 y 17 años.	
148 Jóvenes hombres entre 18/28 años	
160 Jóvenes mujeres entre 18/28 años	
1048 Total, chicas, chicos, adolescentes y jóvene

750 Mujer mayores de 28	
375 Hombres mayores de 28	
1125 Total, mujeres y hombres	

2173 Total Strengthen the protection of migrants, with emphasis on the prevention and response of GBV risks and the improvement of SRR for women and girls, in Bayunca and Soledad (Colombian Caribbean).

Result Area 1: Protection and GBV

STRATEGIC Objective 1: Strengthen the capacities of children, caregivers and communities in the recognition, prevention and response to the protection risks of children and adolescents (with emphasis on the prevention of GBV risks)

R1.1 Protective risk factors for children and adolescents have been identified, with emphasis on the risks of GBV and sexual exploitation and the children most at risk of violence, abuse, abandonment and exploitation
R1.2 The service route for Venezuelan migrants has been identified
R1.3 Adolescents and children at risk have better knowledge and have strengthened self-protection capacities to protect themselves and their partners from violence, with emphasis on the prevention and response to gender-based violence, including exploitation and sexual abuse
R1.4 Parents and caregivers have the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide the necessary care and protection for children and adolescents
Trainings to promote the recognition of risks and rights´ violation, made available on a basis by the following modules: 1- Prevention and response of GBV. 2- Sexual and reproductive health rights. 3- Child Care and Parenting Guidelines.

Result Area 2: Livelihoods and Protection

STRATEGIC Objective 2: Promote access to goods, services and programs to improve the quality of life of Venezuelan migrants settled in Barranquilla and Bayunca.

R2.1 Culturally relevant dignity kits are distributed to affected populations to reduce vulnerability, meet basic hygiene needs and connect women and girls to information and support services
Deliver dignity and hygiene kits to families’ beneficiaries settled down in Barranquilla and Bayunca. The dignity kits offer more than the basic necessities. Dignity kits help women and girls maintain their dignity during humanitarian crises. Preserving dignity is essential to maintaining self-esteem and confidence, which is important to cope in stressful and potentially overwhelming humanitarian situations. Supporting women’s self-esteem and confidence also assists them in providing care and protection to their children. They are also a vital opportunity to meet displaced women and girls and to assess their well-being and raise awareness of the reproductive health services and counselling programmes being made available. Dignity kits include items that are relevant for the protection such as torch, whistle and items related with SRHR (such as condoms). The provision of kits is an entry point for introducing educational material on sexual and reproductive health and rights – an important strategy in the prevention of VAWG.
R2.2 Migrants have greater access to rights through information, advice and legal assistance
Provide guidance on how to access referral mechanisms (routes), programs and services according to the cases and needs. This action will be implemented by mobilization and advocacy, seeking to promote formal procedures of attention for migrants between local public and private institutions.
R2.3 Children and households at risk have access to socio-economic support (cash transfer) as part of a multisectoral response to their livelihoods, in order to mitigate protection risks and GBV The project contributes to the psychosocial and physical wellbeing of women and girls.
Deploying workshops in prevention of GBV involves adolescents and young men to be active agents in the process. This training will also help prevent early pregnancies and empower women and girls. As well, advice on protection routes will provide them with the knowledge to protect and claim their rights and seek the condition of legality and with this improve their living conditions. When adolescent girls and boys have the knowledge and skills about their rights they are better enabled to protect themselves and their peers from violence, neglect and abuse. The purpose is to enable boys and girls to better navigate their own situation and make healthy decisions that promote their well-being. To this extent, boys and girls will know where and how to identify risks and prevent and respond to child protection concerns including gender-based violence (GBV). The development of these capabilities will be fundamental not only for the duration of the process of restoring living conditions after migration but also for the rest of life.