A Mobile Approach to Support Refugees

In Lebanon, which now has the largest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, 18 percent of the displaced Syrian population lives in informal tented settlements while the majority reside in houses and shelters in host communities. Women and girls, in particular, may be isolated within their homes, further limiting their access to social networks and essential services. In these settings, the risks to refugee women and girls are exceptionally high where stress and vulnerability created by displacement can lead to physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

The International Rescue Committee has been implementing the Women’s Protection and Empowerment program (WEP) in Lebanon since 2012, providing gender based violence (GBV) response and mitigation services as well as community mobilization activities through five static Women’s and Girls’ Community Centers. In order to bring services to “hidden” and isolated refugee women and girls in Lebanon, the IRC started implementing an innovative approach to mobile service delivery, including GBV response and risk mitigation, in the north Lebanese-Syrian borders, Lebanon in 2014.

In 2015-2016, one of our current trainees, Ms. Dayana Al Alam worked as a research consultant with the International Center for Research on Women to evaluate the WEP program. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the mobile approach is able to meet the safety and support needs of refugee women and girls, and meet international standards to guarantee safety of GBV survivors and quality of services. The final report was published last week and you can now download it.

Gender Responsive Governance

If you would like to increase your insight in the role of women and men in equitable service delivery. Learn about concepts and tools to integrate gender in all dimensions of (local) governance and discuss gender relations in conflict and peacebuilding processes, please see our training course Gender Responsive Governance This two-week training will be organised from 23 January to 3 February 2017 in The Hague.